Bagyrlai

The Bagyrlai (Бағырлай; Багырлай) is a river in Akzhaik District, West Kazakhstan Region, and Inder District, Atyrau Region, Kazakhstan. It is a right distributary of the Ural river, with a length of 239 km and a drainage basin of 2000 km2. The river was originally a branch of an ancient delta of the Ural.

Its water is fresh, but mostly turbid. It is used for agricultural purposes and the riverbanks are a grazing ground for local cattle.

Course
The Bagyrlai begins branching off the right side of the Ural river northwest of the village of Atameken (until 1994 Antonovo), close to Bazartobe. It heads southwards parallel to the Ural, forming meanders. Its mouth is to the north of lake Terenkyzyl, where it disperses in the sand about 20 km WSW of Orlik, a town on the banks of the Ural river.

The Bagyrlai valley and channel are wide. The right bank is generally steep. The river freezes yearly between December and April. The Bagyrlai Dam, having a surface of 5.5 km2, was built on the middle course of the river in 1962, at the time of the Kazakh SSR. There are other small earthen dams along its course.