Karakol Lake

Karakol Lake, around 10 kilometers from Aktau in Mangystau Region, originated in the 1960s as a settling basin for wastewater produced by seawater desalination tied to the Mangystau nuclear power plant. Over time the discharged water allowed the lake to grow to roughly 4,500 hectares and develop its own ecosystem of fish and crustaceans, which in turn drew large numbers of migratory birds. It now sits within the Karagie-Karakol State Zoological Reserve, a protected area of republican significance established in 1986, and hosts more than 175 recorded bird species, over 20 of which are listed in Kazakhstan's Red Book. Flamingos, swans, pelicans, and herons gather there in large numbers, and the lake is especially known for winter gatherings of swans in December and January, a rare spectacle in Kazakhstan. In recent years conservationists have raised concerns about shrinking water levels, linked partly to a bridge built over the Shora canal that feeds the lake, prompting proposals to install a water-level regulating lock.