Markakol Lake is located in East Kazakhstan. The water in Markakol is very clear, and its picturesque beaches are riddled with bays. It is overgrown with forests or cut off by rocks and covered with meadows. The lake is located at an altitude of 1447 m above sea level and it has an oval-elongated shape and extends from the northeast to the southwest. The length of the lake is 38 km, the width is 19 km, the area is 455 km², the average depth is 14.3 m, and the maximum depth is 24-27 m. There is 6.5 km³ of water in the lake. There are 50 watercourses flow into the lake, the main ones are Topolevka, Tikhushka, Yelovka and Karabulak. From the lake only Kalzhyr river flows.
The color spectrum of Markakol Lake is diverse: from blue in clear weather to gray-black or silvery with changing weather. The state of the water mirror changes many times during the day. The water in the lake is fresh, very soft and slightly acidic, belonging to the hydro carbonate class, the calcium group. The lake freezes in the winter.
The region is composed of metamorphosed rocks, broken by thick veins of the main basaltic rocks and small massifs of alkaline granites. Closer to the mountains their slopes grow tall larch. The lake is rich in fish: Lenok fish, grayling, char and minnow. There are a lot of birds here. In the coastal meadows gulls, grebes, ducks, seagulls and waders nest. In the forests around the lake there are hazel grouse, black grouse, grouse and partridge.
The Markakol Reservoir is located in three different climatic zones: the continental, continental Mongolian and continental western part. The Southern Altai belongs to the Altai-Saurtarbagatai climate zone. Here is a severe snowy winter and a warm, moderately humid summer. The Markakol district is the coldest place in Kazakhstan and Altai. The average daily temperature above 0 ° is 162 days, below 0 ° С - 203 days. The duration of the frost-free period is 60-70 days. In summer, the temperature rises to +29 ° C. Winter is characterized by severe frost and the temperature drops to -45 ° C, sometimes to -53 ° C. In December and February, the temperature can stay within -35-40 ° C for several weeks. The first snowfalls occur at the beginning of October.
Markakol State Nature Reserve is based in the vicinity of Markakol Lake. The reserve was founded in 1976. The reserve protects natural complexes of meadows, steppes, larch taiga, mountain dark coniferous forests, thickets of fir tree, subalpine and alpine meadows and stony tundra on the slopes of the mountains of southern Altai in the region of a high mountain lake lying at an altitude of 1.5 km. Flora Reserve includes more than 700 species of higher plants, and the fauna of the reserve is represented by 55 species of mammals, 250 species of birds.
The first thing you will meet when approaching Markakol is the settlement of Urunhayk, located on the shore of the lake. In the village there were wooden built log cabins, quite exotic for the eye of a European tourist. The first inhabitants settled here in ancient times. Some families are even considered descendants of Estonian immigrants. Tourists can settle both in guest houses, and in yurts.
The mountain lake, Markakol is one of the most beautiful lakes in Eastern Kazakhstan and Altai. The land around the lake is as beautiful as the lake itself. The pride of Markakol reserve is not only the lake, but also the taiga forests, transparent mountain rivers, luminous springs. The plants and animals of this region are extremely rich and diverse.
