salt lake in the northern part of the Saryarqa (Kazak Uplands). The largest lake in northern Kazakhstan, it has an area of 614 square miles (1,590 square km) and a maximum depth of more than 20 feet (6 m); it lies in an area of sparsely inhabited dry steppe and semidesert. It is fed by the Nura and Kulanutpes rivers, and its level is subject to sharp fluctuations. The shore is mostly low lying and clayey, and along the jagged eastern shore are several islands. The lake is the most northerly habitat of the pink flamingo, and its brine is rich in the mineral mirabilite.