Ulugʻshoʻrkoʻl

Ulugʻshoʻrkoʻl, Ullishoʻrkoʻl, Shoʻrkoʻl — a lake in the south of Khorezm region. It is located 14 km southeast of the city of Khiva and 6 km south of the village of Chigʻirchi. The southern part of the lake extends into Turkmenistan. It is at an elevation of 86 m, its basin area is 14.8 km². The lake stretches from north to south (length 16 km). In the northern part its width reaches up to 4 km. It is fed by the Ozyorny collector waters and by runoff waters flowing from washing the northern meadows. Its water is salty. It has recreational significance. The Khorezm fishery sector is active.

Geographic description

The northern part of Ulugʻshoʻrkoʻl lake is in Uzbekistan (Khorezm region, Yangiariq district) and the southern part is on the border with Turkmenistan (Toshhovuz region). It lies 14 km southeast of Khiva, up to 6 km south of the village of Chigʻirchi.

Ulugʻshoʻrkoʻl is near a triangle, extending from north to south and gradually narrowing toward the south. According to the Uzbekistan National Encyclopedia, the lake’s length is 16 km, its width in the northern part is 4 km, and its area is 14.8 km². The same encyclopedia states that it lies at an elevation of 86 m above sea level. According to the main staff’s topographic maps, it is located at approximately 100 m above sea level. It should be noted that the shoreline of Ulugʻshoʻrkoʻl is variable. From the south, west and east the lake is surrounded by the sandy dunes of the Zaunguz Karkum.

The water of Ulugʻshurkoʻl is salty.

The Drujba Lake collector passes through the northern part of the water reservoir and connects it to Buryatapkoʻl Lake to the north‑northeast. The lake is fed by the water flow that passes through this canal. It is also fed by waste water from irrigation in the north. The idea of building the collector arose from the unbalanced relationship between inflow and evaporation of water in various lakes of the Khorezm region, where water flowing out of the lake accumulates here: first a part of the reservoir dried up, then another part overflowed. In 1954 the first stage of the collector’s operation aimed at maintaining stable lake water from Doʻngʻuzkoʻl to Ulugʻshoʻrkoʻl was carried out; the second stage of the collector’s operation in the Ulugʻshoʻrkoʻl‑Shixkoʻl area was launched in 1957. However, weak evaporation in the lakes made it difficult to fill them and caused previously built collectors to cease functioning. In 1959, with the joint efforts of the Uzbek SSR and the Turkmen SSR, the construction of the large lake collector named Friendship of Peoples began, which solved the melioration problems.