Balyktykol (Shortandy District)

Balyktykol (Балықтыкөл; Балыктыколь) is a lake in Shortandy District, Akmola Region, Kazakhstan.

The lake is located 55 km to the west of Shortandy, the district capital.

Geography
Balyktykol is an oval lake located on a slightly hilly plain roughly sloping to the north. Three intermittent watercourses flow into the lake from the west, southwest and the southeast. Approximately every three years —provided there is sufficient precipitation— Balyktykol becomes exorheic and drains through a roughly 12 m wide riverbed at the northern end. Its waters reach the left bank of the Kalkutan river, that flows 6.5 km to the north.

The lake lies about 30 km to the northeast of the Ishim, of which the Kalkutan is a tributary. The water of Balyktykol is fresh. The lake freezes in November and thaws by April. The ice thickness reaches between 1.2 m and 1.3 m in severe winters, but usually it is 0.8 m to 1 m thick in average winters.

Flora and fauna
About two thirds of the catchment area of the lake are agricultural fields, the remaining area has steppe vegetation. There is a continuous 200 m to 300 m wide strip along the lakeshore in which reeds predominate. Further offshore there are submerged aquatic plants covering about 20% of the lake surface. There are fish living in the lake.