Barak Kol

Barak Kol or Baraq Lake (also Baraqköl, Barakol Lake, Barakkol Lake, Ozero Barakkol', Ozero Barak-Kul'^[1]) is a lake in Ulytau District, Karaganda Region, of central Kazakhstan between the mountains Gora Akdongul and Gora Baygetobe.^[2] Köl is the word for lake in Turkic languages, and Baraq was a khan of the Chagatai Khanate, a great-great-grandson of Genghis Khan.^[3]

Barak Kol is an important wetland for migrating geese, specifically Anser anser, the greylag goose, and Anser erythropus, the lesser white-fronted goose.^[4] The lake is approimately 3.5 km wide and 4 km long. The lake is freshwater with reeds gorwing along the margins. It lies in a shallow valley pinching out to the north and opening out to the south with low hills to the northeast and northwest.^[5]

It is part of the proposed Ulytau-Arganatinsk nature reserve. The nearest settlement is Arganatinsk.

Notes and references

1. United States Board on Geographic Names (1959). U.S.S.R. and certain neighboring areas; official standard names approved by the United States Board on Geographic Names. Gazetteer, no. 42. Washington, D.C.: Office of Geography. p. 240.
2. "Ozero Barakkol', Qaraghandy, Kazakhstan". Traveling Luck.
3. Biran, Michael (1997). Qaidu and the Rise of the Independent Mongol State in Central Asia. Surrey, England: Curzon Press. ISBN 978-0-7007-0631-0.
4. "Bird areas: Ashchykol and Barakkol Lakes IBA". Global Species. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016.
5. "Important Bird and Biodiversity Area factsheet: KZ061: Ashchykol and Barakkol Lakes". BirdLife International.

Further reading

• Sklyarenko, Sergeĭ Lʹvovich; Welch, G. R. and Brombacher, Michael (2008). Important Bird Areas in Kazakhstan: Priority sites for conservation. Almaty: Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK). ISBN 978-9965-32-686-8.

Coordinates: 49°18′43″N 67°16′33″E / 49.31194°N 67.27583°E