Shalkar Lake

Shalkar is a broad, brackish lake in the northern Caspian lowland, east of the Ural River. Its waters lie in a natural hollow fed by branches of the Solyanka, amid saline ground and muddy shallows. In years of abundant water, the lake can drain toward the Ural basin; at other times the outlet is mostly dry. The expanse of water stands out among the open pastures of the surrounding steppe and provides habitat for waterbirds.