lowland constituting the extreme southern extension of the West Siberian Plain. Most of the steppe lies in Russia, but its western part extends into Kazakhstan. Roughly triangular in shape, with its point to the south, it covers an area of approximately 39,000 square miles (100,000 square km). With a poor drainage pattern because of low relative relief and meagre rainfall, the steppe has numerous lakes, mostly salt; Lake Kulunda is the largest. Glauber's salt (a sodium sulfate compound used in dyes and medicines) and soda are extracted from the lakes. The city of Pavlodar (q.v.) lies at the steppe's western margin.