Korgalzhyn State Nature Reserve

Korgalzhyn State Nature Reserve is located in the southwestern part of the Tengiz-Korgalzhyn depression, situated in the central part of Kazakhstan, near Karaganda, Ust-Kamenogorsk and Aktobe. Administratively, the reserve is included in the Korgalzhyn area Tselinograd region, from him to Tselinograd about one hundred and eighty kilometers to the southwest. The relief of most of the plains gradually descending to Tengiz Lake. Traces of glacial activity on the relief, since glaciation that engulfed northern Eurasia at the beginning of the Quaternary period, are not spread to Central Kazakhstan. The absolute altitude – 304-426 meters above sea level. The area of ??the Tengiz-Korgalzhyn depression – 30,000 square kilometers. According geological structure is one of the intermountain basins of Kazakhstan. Hydro geologically Tengiz-Korgalzhyn depression is interesting because here are the largest in Northern and Central Lake Kazakhstan – Tengiz and Kurgaldzhino. However, this is only the remains of the ancient Eocene sea, once filled the entire cavity.

Lake Kurgaldzhino – the realm of reed and cattail. Their thickets occupy semde-FNF-eighty percent of the water surface, having an area of ??330 square kilometers. Reed pond separates into several large bays and many stretches that have received an independent title lakes. They are divided into peripheral and internal and vary the degree of mineralization of water-tion, the hydrological regime, vegetation, species composition and biomass of plankton and benthos. Among the uneven, hilly, sometimes plowed, and in some places untouched by man virgin steppe, on the periphery of the Kazakh uplands stretch this huge bitter-salty undrained reservoir – Lake Tengiz. Its area – 1500 square kilometers, the length of coastline – 4808 km. Tengiz Reach consists of the main and north-eastern Gulf, mineralization reaches two hundred and seventy-one and a half grams per liter of water, which is five to six times higher than the average salinity of the oceans. The depth of the relict lake reached 8 meters in 1945, in po¬slednie years – no more than a half to two and a half meters. Tengiz Beach most gentle, sometimes covered with rubble, in some places marshy, saline.

The reserve is more than three hundred species of flowering plants. Trees do not have, but there are sixteen species of shrubs, mostly along rivers grows: shrub willow (six species), honeysuckle and rose. At the steppes sometimes occur in large arrays Karagan and meadowsweet. Rich and bizarre wildlife reserve. Especially there are a lot of birds, and almost every year a list of them is increased by one or two species mainly due to registration stray, not previously encountered in these places.

I remember the famous bozaralskie flights. Bozaral Lake – a shallow spill Nura where it flows into Tengiz. In the fall there is going fabulous amounts of game. Ducks can be seen everywhere, wherever you cast a glance. The surface of the water becomes black from them. Sometimes over Bozaralom ducks are flying in several tiers. In the air, there are incessant bird chatter and the clink of the wings, so powerful, that two people who are on the shore, you can not nor-mally talk. Just a lot of birds nest in the reserve.

Mammals in the reserve bit – permanently inhabited thirty-four species. And half of the order of rodents: marmots, ground squirrels, mice, voles, jerboas, ho¬myachki and others. The high number of rodents allows thrive predatory beasts, of which there are seven species: the gray wolf, fox, Korsak, badger, polecat steppe, ermine and weasels. From the permanent inhabitants of the reserve has yet to be called a hare – hare and the hare, eared hedgehogs, shrews and powerful wild boar – king reed roof supports. Korgalzhyn lakes are rich in fish, some of them are commercial species. This is primarily gold and silver carp, ide, pike, tench, perch and roach.

Great value Kurgaldzhino nature reserve its main wealth – the birds. Lake is the largest stanitsey waterfowl and shorebirds during their spring migration. Geographical location, great area, diversity composition of the water and the hydrological regime, wealth protection and fodder places to create a protected lakes of very favorable conditions for life (breeding, molting and feeding) a wide variety of birds. The reserve is home to a number of rare and endangered species of animals whose existence is under threat due to intensive economic development terri¬torii country, the preservation of which is important today in the scientific, practical and aesthetic way.