Korgalzhyn State Nature Reserve

The reserve was established in 1958. Korgalzhyn National Park is the largest preserve zone in Kazakhstan, occupying an area of about 258.9 thousand hectares, including 198,000 hectares of wetlands. Here exists the most beautiful feather-grass steppe. The territory of the preserve is the connection of two large lakes, Tengiz and Korgalzhyn. The word "tengiz" in its translation means "sea". The Tengiz-Korgalzhyn Lake system is situated in the strong continental climate zone, still influenced by the Atlantic. Very cold winters and hot summers, with an average precipitation of only 267 mm falling mainly in summer, are typical. The average temperature in January is -17В°C (winter min. -45В°C) and in June it is +20В°C (summer max. 41.5В°C). The number of days with an average temperature below zero is 150 per year. The Korgalzhyn lakes are primarily the vast delta areas of the Nura and Kulanuptes rivers forming a series of fresh and brackish water lakes. They have an average depth of only 1.6 meters (range 0.5 to 2.5m) and an area of 47,100 ha. The water level is stabilized due to dams in the reserve. Tengiz Lake is the largest lake in the Kazakh steppe zone and its size varies between 113,600 to 159,000 hectares depending on water supply.

The preserve's flora counts about 350 kinds of plants, 90% of which are grasses. The fauna includes some 82 types of birds, 33 of which are included in the "Red Book"; they are the black lark, great bustard, crane, gyrfalcon and steppe wind hover.

This is the northern nesting habitat of the pink flamingo. There are no large trees, as this is the domain of low grasses and bushes typical for the steppe area. The Kurgaljinski lakes are rich in fish, including edible species. They are golden and argentine crucian, ide, pike, tench, perch, and roach.

There were about 45-60 thousand of flamingo in 1960-es whereas there are 10-15 thousand of them in 2000.

Source: Kazakhstan, National Encyclopedia, Vol. 3.