Rivers of Kazakhstan

Most of the rivers in Kazakhstan flow into the Caspian and Aral Seas, and only the Irtysh, Ishim, and Tobol bring their waters to the Kara Sea. There are 7 rivers in Kazakhstan with a total length of more than 1000 km: Irtysh, Ishim, Ural, Syrdarya, Tobol, Ili, Chu.

And 12 rivers whose total length is more than 500 km, about 7 thousand rivers whose length exceeds the 10-kilometer mark. The Arctic Ocean basin includes:

Irtysh River
The Irtysh River is the largest river in Kazakhstan, its length across Kazakhstan is 1700 km, and the total length of the river is 4248 km, the Irtysh River ranks second in length after the Missouri River.

The source of the river is located on the eastern slopes of the Mongolian Altai ridge and flows through the entire Eastern
Kazakhstan and flows into the Ob River. The Irtysh River flows through three regional centers on the territory of Kazakhstan: Ust-Kamenogors, Semey and Pavlodar. On the Irtysh there are Bukhtarminskaya, Ust-Kamenogorskaya, and 2079680 Shulbinskaya hydroelectric power stations. The Irtysh is navigable from April to November; passenger ships and boats sail almost to the border with China. There are places where the river floodplain is densely planted with poplars and shrubs, so wild boars, roe deer and pheasants are found here. The Irtysh is rich in fish, which attracts fishing enthusiasts. In the river there are: sterlet, nelma, stellate sturgeon, sturgeon, pike, perch, crucian carp. Some pike specimens reach up to 15 kg. Recently, carp, bream, pike perch and Baikal omul were released into the river. The Irtysh River is considered one of the cleanest rivers in the world, as it contains a little more than a hundred impurities per liter of water; usually this figure is much higher and amounts to 300 impurities per liter of water.

Reka Ishim
The Ishim River is the longest tributary of the Irtysh; its length in Kazakhstan is 1400 km, and the total length of the river is 2450 km. The river originates in the Niyaz mountain range and flows through Northern Kazakhstan and the Akmola region. The river is navigable in places from Petropavlovsk to the Sergeevskoye reservoir, and from the village of Vikulovo to the mouth. On the Ishim River, there are two reservoirs - Vyacheslavskoye and Sergeevskoye. The river is fed by melted snow and is important for the settlements through which it flows.
as it supplies them with water, including water used to irrigate fields.

Tobol River. The Tobol River, its length in Kazakhstan is 800 km, and the total length of the river is 1591 km. The Tobol River originates on the border of the eastern spurs of the Southern Urals and the Turgai table of the country. The Tobol is a left tributary of the Irtysh, the river is considered navigable at a distance of 437 km from the mouth. Large tributaries of the rivers are Uy, Iset, Tura, Tavda and IMGP0019 Ubagan. The river is fed by melt water and flows through the Kostanay region, through settlements such as: Lisakovsk, Rudny, Zatobolsk, Kostanay, etc. Outwardly, the river is very calm, but during the flood period it overflows and causes a lot of inconvenience to suburban villages. There is fish in the river, which brings pleasure to fishermen, since fishermen can be found on Tobol at any time of the year. In the summer, boys catch crayfish on Tobol.

The following rivers belong to the Caspian Sea basin:

Ural River in Kazakhstan. Initially, the Ural River was called Yaik and only in 1775, by decree of Catherine II, it was renamed the Ural. The Ural River begins with its sources at Mount Nazhimtau in Bashkortostan, then it flows through the territory of Russia, crosses Western Kazakhstan from north to south and flows into the Caspian Sea. . It is surprising that one bank of the Ural River is in Europe, and the other is in Asia. The total length of the Ural River is 2428 km, within the Republic of Kazakhstan - 1100 km. The river flows through two large cities in Kazakhstan: Uralsk and Atyrau. The Ural River in Kazakhstan is quite 250px-Ural_river meandering and forms a large number of loops. The Ural River is considered navigable. The river still contains sturgeon, stellate sturgeon, carp, catfish, pike perch, bream, and chubak. A wide variety of fauna representatives live along the riverbed, for which the Ural River is their home, and the river otter has found its place there. From the city of Uralsk, a travel company organizes rafting tours along the Ural River. The Ural River becomes covered with ice in November and is released from ice captivity in late March and early April. Kazakhstani environmentalists are sounding the alarm about the pollution and shallowing of the Ural River, as this cannot but affect the local flora and fauna. Once upon a time, the main occupation of the residents of the city of Uralsk was fishing. Red fish provided the main income for the city. And now avid fishermen fish on the Ural River, there are cases when they catch a catfish weighing 20 kg, but this is already a rarity.

River Syrdarya. The Syrdarya River on the territory of Kazakhstan has a length of 1400 km, and the total length of the river is 2219 km. The Syrdarya River is considered one of the longest rivers in Central Asia. The river originates in the eastern part of the Fergana Valley; along the path of its flow, the river crosses four Asian states - Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. In Kazakhstan, the Syr Darya flows through the South Kazakhstan and Kyzylorda regions. The Kyzylorda, Kyzylkum, Kazalinskaya dams and the Shardara reservoir were erected on the river; the dams were erected for the economical use of water, which is used to irrigate rice fields. Due to the fact that the water of the Syrdarya River is maximally used in agriculture, it does not reach the Aral Sea. On the territory of Kazakhstan, the river has only one tributary, the Arys. The water in the river is muddy because along the river’s route there are mostly loose rocks of earth. Even though the river is muddy, there are fish in it.

Ili River. The Ili River on the territory of Kazakhstan has a length of 815 km, the total length of the river is 1439 km. The Ili River begins in the Chinese part of the Tien Shan mountain range at an altitude of 3 m. It flows through the Almaty region, forming the Kapchagai reservoir and flows into Lake Balkhash, the large tributaries of the Ili are Turgen, Talgar, Kurty, Chilik, Charyn, Usek. Not far from the Kapchagay reservoir along the Ili River, many petroglyphs have been preserved on the black rocks, there are only about 540 different images. In general, the Ili River is the main branch of tourism in Semirechye. Here, lovers of water travel can go rafting on the river, getting acquainted with the amazing nature of the river floodplain. The vegetation consists of sparse trees along the banks, mostly reed thickets, which are considered a favorite habitat for numerous birds. There are fish in the river: catfish, carp, asp, pike perch, bream, grass carp - thereby attracting fishing lovers. An interesting fact is that the river in some places breaks up into lakes, the water in which is perfectly clean and lilies grow in these lakes.

Chu River. The Chu River on the territory of Kazakhstan has a length of 800 km, the total length of the river is 1185 km. The Chu River originates in the Terskey Ala-Too and Kyrgyz ridge glaciers. It flows through the territory of Kazakhstan through settlements such as Kordai and Chu. Main tributaries: on the right - Chon-Kemin, Yrgaity, Kakpatas; on the left - Alamedin, Aksu, Kuragaty. In its upper reaches, the river crosses mountain ranges and has the character of a mountain river, so rafting in this area is only possible for experienced water lovers. The river replenishes its waters due to the melting of glaciers and snow. On the territory of Kazakhstan there is the Tasotkel reservoir. The river is the nurse of coastal villages, since there is a lot of fish in the river and if you want to go fishing, you certainly won’t leave without a catch. In the backwaters of this river there are enough trout and catfish that reach quite impressive sizes.