Can you swim in Lake Balkhash?
Beaches and swimming Unlike some of the other lakes in the neighbourhood (notably Issyk-Kul and Alakol), the waters of Balkhash do warm up in summer. The swimming season begins in mid-June and ends in September.
What is the most radioactive lake on Earth?
Lake Karachay
The body of water most contaminated with radioactive pollution was Lake Karachay (aka “Reservoir 9”), a small lake formerly located near the Mayak Production Association, a nuclear facility in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia.
What would happen if you swam in Lake Karachay?
Even just standing on shore can be deadly: If a human were to hang out on Lake Karachay for an hour, they would be exposed to a lethal dose of radiation. Swim Here Instead: Set in southeastern Siberia, you will find the oldest and deepest lake in the world, Lake Baikal.
What is Lake Balkhash used for?
Lake Balkhash, the third largest lake in Kazakhstan after the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea, plays a significant role in preserving and managing the natural and climatic equity in Central Asia.
What is special about Lake Balkhash?
The lake covers about 16,400 km2 (2000), making it the largest lake wholly in Kazakhstan. Its surface is about 340 m above sea level. It has a gentle curve (sickle) shape yet with jagged shorelines. Its length is about 600 km and the width varies from 9–19 km in the eastern part to 74 km in the western part.
What is the most toxic lake?
Lake Karachay, located in the southern Ural Mountains in eastern Russia, is the most dangerous lake in the world. In less that an hour you can receive a lethal dose of radiation (600 roentgens).
How do you say Lake Balkhash in Kazakh?
Lake Balkhash (Kazakh: Балқаш көлі, Kazakh pronunciation: [bɑɫqɑʃ kyʉlɘ]; Russian: Озеро Балхаш, Ozero Balhaš) is one of the largest lakes in Asia and 15th largest in the world.
What happened to the Lake Balkhash?
The shallowing is acute in the western “half”. From 1972 until 2001, a small salt lake Alakol, 8 km south of Balkhash, had practically disappeared and the southern part of the lake lost about 150 km 2 of water surface. Of the 16 existing lake systems around the lake only five remain. The desertification process involved about 1⁄3 of the basin.
How many species of fish are there in the Balkhash Lake?
The lake hosted about 20 species of fish, 6 of which were native: Ili marinka ( Schizothorax pseudoaksaiensis ), Balkhash marinka ( S. argentatus ), Balkhash perch ( Perca schrenkii ), Triplophysa strauchii, T. labiata and Balkhash minnow ( Rhynchocypris poljakowi ).
Is Lake Balkan in Russia or Kazakhstan?
For more than 100 years until the Soviet Union was split, the lake was on Russia’s territory and only since 1991 is part of Kazakhstan. The name is coming from the local word “Balkas” that means “tussocks from a swamp”.