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Salt lake in Kazakhstan
Alua
(
Kazakh
:
Алуа
;
Russian
:
Алва
) is a
salt lake
in
Esil District
,
North Kazakhstan Region
,
Kazakhstan
.
[1]
[2]
The lake is located 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) to the NW of
Yavlenka
town, the administrative center of the district. Small Amangeldi village lies 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) to the southeast of the eastern lakeshore.
[3]
Legend
[
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]
"Alua" is an
ethnic Kazakh
girl's name. According to local folklore, a young man named Zharylkamys fell in love with a girl named Alua and decided to marry her even though their clans adamantly opposed the union. Eventually the lovers ran away and hid in a thicket by the eastern lakeside, but Zharylkamys was found and killed by the clansmen chasing them. Seeing her lover dead, Alua committed suicide. Following the tragic outcome the lovers were buried at that same spot and as years went by the lake was named after the girl. This legend was collected by
Sabit Mukanov
in his autobiographical trilogy
School of life
.
[4]
[5]
Geography
[
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]
Alua is an
endorheic lake
belonging to the
Ishim River basin
. It is located at the southern edge of the
Ishim Plain
. The shores are flat and the bottom of the lake is muddy.
The lake is surrounded by agricultural fields and pasture land. It is fed by rain and snow. Lake
Menkeser
lies 20 kilometers (12 mi) to the NW and
Stanovoye
35 kilometers (22 mi) to the north.
[3]
[4]
Flora and fauna
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]
Some stretches of the lakeshore are overgrown with
reeds
. The
mute swan
is one of the bird species sighted at the lake.
[4]
[6]
See also
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]
References
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]
External links
[
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]