Lake Zhetykol

Lake Zhetykol (Озеро Жетыколь) is a large salt lake in the Svetlinsky District of Orenburg Oblast, next to the village of Ozyorny. It is the second-largest lake of the Svetlinskaya group of lakes: the basin covers about 5,027 hectares, and the water level sits at an elevation of 305 metres. The basin is endorheic (has no outflow) and of tectonic origin.

Shores and basin

The basin is asymmetric. On the east it is bounded by low ridges, while on the west the shore rises in a terrace-like escarpment up to four metres high. In the northeastern, southwestern and eastern parts the shores are heavily cut by deep ravines. The lake is fed from the north through the Sukhodol ravine and from the south through the Kazanche gully, which forms a deep, long pool just before it flows into the lake.

Depth and water

Zhetykol is shallow: at an average water level depths do not exceed two metres, the prevailing depth is about one metre, and the maximum of up to 3.5 metres occurs only in isolated spots. The bottom is lined with coarse-grained sand and dark-grey silt 30–50 centimetres thick, underlain by clay. The water is mineralised: it is rich in chlorides, sodium salts and bicarbonates, and total mineralisation in an average water year reaches 1.6–1.7 grams per litre — noticeably more than in freshwater lakes.

Name and status

Zhetykol is a Turkic name: from Kazakh it translates as "seven lakes", reflecting the character of the area, where this lake lies among a whole cluster of salt water bodies of Svetlinsky District. According to the Orenburg Oblast tourism portal, the lake belongs to a specially protected natural area.

Surroundings

Zhetykol lies in a sparsely populated steppe part of Svetlinsky District, with only the village of Ozyorny nearby. Other natural sites of the south-east of Orenburg Oblast are not far away: the "Ashisaysky Steppe" tract is about 21 kilometres off, Lake Shalkar-Yega-Kara is around 33 kilometres away, and the Kumak Reservoir is roughly 54 kilometres distant. So Zhetykol turns out to be part of a whole cluster of steppe and lake landmarks in this part of the oblast, not a single isolated sight.