Sorbulaq Lake

Sorbulaq occupies a natural closed depression on the dry foothill plain north of the Trans-Ili Alatau. Saline lakes lay in the basin, with no river outlet to carry away the salts left as water evaporated. Beyond it the plain slopes toward the Ili valley, while the mountains rise to the south. The hollows of this arid country collect water locally rather than draining directly to a sea.