LAKE KARAKUL - sights of Tajikistan

Lake Karakul is the largest drainage lake located in the eastern part of the Pamir, south of the Zaalaysky Range, on the territory of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast of Tajikistan. The name of the lake from the Türkic can be translated as "Black Lake". They called it that because at certain times of the day, the water in the lake gets a black shade. Although, this is not entirely reliable: when the sun glows at a certain angle, the crystal clear water of the lake becomes either dark blue or dark green. The lake lies in a flat basin at an altitude of 3914 meters above sea level. Karakul is 100 m higher than the famous high mountain lake Titicaca in the Andes. In addition, this largest glacial-tectonic lake has an area of ​​380 km2 without islands, and a maximum depth of about 240 meters. Karakul is surrounded by deserted rocky ridges, in the west suitable for the lake, and in the east several kilometers from it. The bitter-saline lake water remains cold almost all year round. In winter the lake freezes. In the warm season and in calm weather, the water of Karakul is absolutely transparent, but when the wind is strong, waves rise and the color of the water acquires a dark color. The shores of the lake are surrounded by high mountains on three sides, and only on the east side it faces a small picturesque valley. Particularly charming are the views that open up to a traveler descending to the valley from the Kyzylart Pass. The possibilities for mountain climbing in the lake region are unlimited. The peninsula projecting from the south and the rectangular island near the northern shore divide the lake into two parts - a shallower one (the depth here is up to 22.5 meters) east with numerous shallow bays and flat capes and a larger western cape, whose depth reaches 236 meters. The width of the strait between these two parts of the lake is 1 kilometer. As early as the end of the 19th century, the northern part of the island was connected to the shore by a narrow isthmus, which has now disappeared. Small rivers of Kara-Jilga, Karaart, Muzkol and several smaller ones flow into Karakul, but none of them flows that makes the lake a drainless one. The water here has a bitter-salty flavor, the percentage of salt content per liter of water here is quite large, which makes the lake a glory of the dead. At the mouth of small rivers flowing into the lake, where the water is more or less fresh, there are a few small fish-loaches. On the islands nesting colonies of brown-headed gulls and Tibetan terns. On the eastern shore of the lake, near the highway is located the village of Karakul, the main population of which are Kyrgyz. And a few kilometers from the lake is the famous valley of Marcansu. This name is interpreted as the "Valley of the Torners", others as the "Death Valley", but it is most accurate to say that it is "Dead Water". Why the valley got exactly this name, it is difficult to say. Perhaps, because this area was the first on the way of the travelers who reached the Pamirs from the flowering, fertile Alai Valley, and the contrast with Marcans was quite appreciable. Here was discovered the world-famous parking of the Stone Age of Oshkhon (8 millennium BC), the habitat of seasonal hunters. Near the village of Karaart, located about a kilometer from the highway Murgab-Osh, at an altitude of 3950 m, there is an architectural complex of the middle of the 1 st millennium, combining the observatory with the cult of animals. * Origin. According to one version of the scientists, the basin of the lake, heavily modified as a result of the influence of the ancient glaciation, has a tectonic origin. However, recent geological studies of the lake, as well as the study of space images, have allowed a number of scientists to conclude that Lake Karakul was formed due to the fall of the meteorite approximately 25 million years ago. The crater, formed as a result of a meteorite impact on the earth, has a diameter of 45 kilometers. The islands formed due to the rise of soil in the center of the crater can be seen in the north and south of the lake (they have already been mentioned above). * The wonder of the lake. A curious feature of Karakul is that the shore of the lake rests on ice for a considerable length, ice even lies on the bottom of the lake. About where he came from, scientists do not yet have a common opinion. Some believe that it is the remains of ancient glaciers, others explain this phenomenon by the remnants of an ice shield that filled the hollow in the ice age, while others suggest that ice was formed recently. But anyway, the ice on the shores of the lake is gradually melting, as a result of which dips, straits, lakes are formed, and the islets separate from the coast, the lake itself is gradually changing its dimensions. In addition, the Karakul hollow is also remarkable by the fact that this is the most desolate place in the Pamirs. Here there is less rainfall, about twenty millimeters per year. Despite the fact that the area of ​​Karakul is harsh, it is both unusually beautiful with its pristine, untouched nature and inaccessibility, which particularly attracts travelers from all over the world.