Sonaly

The Sonaly (Соналы) is a river in the Nura District, Karaganda Region, Kazakhstan. It has a length of 106 km and a drainage basin of 334 km2.

It is the second most important tributary of the Kulanotpes. Sonaly village is located 10 km upriver from its mouth.

Course
The Sonaly river originates in the Amantau (Амантау), a small massif of the Kazakh Uplands. Its source is in the southeastern slopes, 106 km to the NNW of lake Shoshkakol. It heads first southwestwards and describes a wide arch bending westwards and northwestwards while still in its upper reaches. Then it heads roughly northwards all along its course. In its last stretch it bends northwestwards and joins the left bank of the Kulanotpes. The border of Korgalzhyn District, Akmola Region, stretches along the opposite bank.

The river valley is wide and its channel is bound by steep banks. In the summer the Sonaly usually stops flowing and splits into disconnected pools.