Shalkar (; ) is a brackish lake in Terekti District, West Kazakhstan Region, Kazakhstan.
The lake lies about to the SSE of the city of Oral. Shalkar lake is an important bird area.Shalkar Lake - BirdLife Data Zone
Geography Lake Shalkar lies at the bottom of a depression located in the northernmost sector of the Caspian Lowland. It is a brackish lake bound by salt marshes on the northern side.Шалкар; Great Soviet Encyclopedia in 30 vols. — Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov. - 3rd ed. - M. Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978. (in Russian)
The lake is fed by snow, as well as groundwater. It freezes in November and stays under ice until May. The main inflowing rivers are the Sholakankaty and Yesenankaty, having their mouths in the eastern shore. The outflowing Solyanka connects the lake basin with the Ural River basin and is mostly dry.Google Earth
Flora and fauna Among the fish species found in the lake, bream, carp, tench, perch, pike, catfish and gudgeon deserve mention. There are reed thickets on the Shalkar shores and in the areas of the river mouths. These provide a habitat for birds such as swans, geese, ducks, flamingos, seagulls and herons, among others.Словарь современных географических названий. — Екатеринбург: У-Фактория. Под общей редакцией акад. В. М. Котлякова. 2006.
See also List of lakes of Kazakhstan
References
External links
Shalkar Lake - Kazakhstan rivers and lakes. Tourism and recreational potential of the salt lakes of Western Kazakhstan