Trip to Big Almaty Lake.

“We know nothing at all. All our knowledge is but the knowledge of schoolchildren. The real nature of things we shall never know” 

Albert Einstein.

Big Almaty gorge Walking.

Big Almaty Lake, located at an altitude of 2511 meters above sea level, is located in the bed of the river of the same name, in the northern part of the mountain spur of Almatynyn-Alagyry, on the northern slope of the Zailiyskiy Alatau, on the territory of the Ile-Alatau natural park in Bostandyk district of Almaty.
Previously, the lake was called Zhosalykol, then for a short time at the beginning of the twentieth century - Almaty, later acquired its present name, which determines its location in the basin of the Bolshaya Almatinka River.
The dam of the lake was formed by an ancient glacial moraine and a grandiose collapse of the adjacent slopes, which created a natural dam. Until the end of the 40s of the last century, a river with beautiful cascades of waterfalls flowed from the lake through the top of a natural dam.
At the beginning of the 50s, the river flowing from the lake was partially taken into a pipe supplying water to the turbine blades of the hydroelectric power station cascade. At the end of the 70s of the last century, the natural dam was reinforced with reinforced concrete; in the 80s of the last century, periodic repairs of the dam were carried out by the forces of "Kazglavselezachita".
The length of the lake from south-west to north-east is 982 meters, the greatest width in the central part of the lake from east to west is 580 meters (data as of October 14, 2020). The perimeter of the lake reaches 2570 meters, the area is 0.35 square kilometers (data as of 10.06.2021).
The volume of the lake when fully filled is 13,000,000,000 cubic meters. The deepest lake is about 35 meters. In spring and summer, water fills the lake, which is necessary for the operation of a cascade of hydroelectric power plants located in the valley of the Bolshaya Almatinka River.
The lake is filled up to the maximum level by November 1 for the uninterrupted operation of the hydroelectric power station cascade during the winter period. Fluctuations in the water level in the lake reach 20 meters. In winter, the lake freezes and is partially lowered through water intake pipes.
The maximum water level is in August, the minimum is in February. The maximum water temperature is 12.8 ° C. At an altitude of 2511.2 meters above sea level, the Bolshaya Almatinka River flows into the lake from the south-east with a delta wide up to 450 meters.
The river flows out of the lake with two underground streams, 450 and 490 meters long, overcomes natural and artificial dams and flows in one channel at an altitude of 2375 meters above sea level. The Serkebulak stream with a length of 3.8 kilometers flows into the northwestern part of the Big Almaty Lake.
The stream originates from the northern slopes of the Almatynin Alagir ridge and from the eastern slope of the Turist mountain 3954, 2 meters above sea level.
Geographic coordinates of the Serkebulak stream: N43 ° 02'59.80 "E76 ° 57'58.44"
The lake offers picturesque panoramas of the surrounding mountains. In the southeastern side of the lake rises the Sovetov Peak, 4317 meters above sea level. In the south, there is a domed snow-ice peak Ozernaya, 4130.5 meters above sea level, in the south-west of the lake is Mount Turist, 3954.2 meters above sea level.
From the west, the lake is closed by the Bolshoi Almatinsky peak, 3681.9 meters above sea level, which is clearly visible from Almaty with a beautiful pyramid in the south. The lake serves for drinking water supply in Almaty and is part of the city's water management system.
An asphalt road from the city is laid to the lake. There is a gauging station in the southeastern part of the lake at an altitude of 2545.3 meters above sea level. In the northwestern part of the lake there are houses of the Institute of Geography of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Geographic coordinates of Lake Big Almaty: N43 ° 03'12.24 "E76 ° 59'01.45"

Authority and photos by
Alexander Petrov.