Lake Sarykamysh

In northern part of Turkmenistan, between the Caspian and Aral Seas, there is a large closed Lake Sarykamysh. There lies the Sarykamysh Depression, which began to be flooded in the 1960-s. The formed lake is situated three-quarters is in Turkmenistan and a quarter in Uzbekistan.

This closed bitter lake was formed due to the collector and drainage water flowing from the agricultural fields on the left Amu Darya riverbank. In 1977, the Sarykamysh Lake occupied 1,500 km2, 10 years later it increased to 3,200 km2. Moreover, the salinity of the lake is constantly growing; however, fishery is well developed there.

The shores of Lake Sarykamysh are sandy and heavily indented. Though the major part of the lake at the coastline is shallow, the average lake depth is 8 m.