| Shalkar | |
|---|---|
| Шалқар | |
 Sentinel-2 image of the lake in 2021 | |
  Shalkar | |
| Location | Kokshetau Hills, Kazakh Uplands |
| Coordinates | 53°12′N68°24′E / 53.200°N 68.400°E /53.200; 68.400 |
| Part of | Kokshetau Lakes |
| Primary inflows | Koi-Bagir |
| Primary outflows | Tyun-Tyugur |
| Basin countries | Kazakhstan |
| Max. length | 9.49 kilometers (5.90 mi) |
| Max. width | 2.95 kilometers (1.83 mi) |
| Surface area | 29.6 square kilometers (11.4 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 5.34 meters (17.5 ft) |
| Max. depth | 11 meters (36 ft) |
| Residence time | UTC+6 |
| Shore length1 | 38.4 kilometers (23.9 mi) |
| Surface elevation | 309.7 meters (1,016 ft) |
| Islands | 3 |
| 1 Shore length isnot a well-defined measure. | |
Shalkar (Kazakh:Шалқар;Russian:Шалкар) is alake inAiyrtau District,North Kazakhstan Region,Kazakhstan.[1]
Aiyrtau village lies a little to the south of the southwestern tip of the lake andShalkar village to the southeast of the eastern tip. There are resorts by the lakeshore.[2][3] Lake Shalkar is part of theKokshetau National Park, aprotected area.[4]
Shalkar lies in the western sector of theKokshetau Lakes. It is an elongated lake stretching in an ENE-WSW direction with acove at the eastern end. The entrance of the cove is 164 meters (538 ft) wide. The southern shore is steep, with up to 8 meters (26 ft) high cliffs, while the remaining lakeshore is gently sloping. The bottom of lake Shalkar is flat, with sandy and rocky areas. There are three islets near the eastern shore of the lake. The water is slightly brackish. LakeImantau is located 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) to the southwest,Zhamantuz lies 20 kilometers (12 mi) to the west,Saumalkol 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) to the northwest andUlken Koskol 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) to the north.[1]
The Koi-Bagir river flows into the lake during the spring floods from the northwestern side. The outflow of lake Shalkar is river Tyun-Tyugur, flowing southwards from the southwestern end.[1][2][5]
There are forests close to the southern shore of the lake, withbirch,aspen andsea buckthorn, among other trees and shrubs.[5] From the fish species living in the lake, theperch is autochthonous. Theleast cisco,peled,carp,Prussian carp andcrucian carp found in lake Shalkar have been introduced.[6]
