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12-497: It is one of the five largest freshwater lakes in all of China, covering approximately 2,339 km. In years with high precipitation, the normally exit−less endorheic lake may overflow at its northern shore, and the water will meet the Argun River (Ergune) after about 30 kilometres (19 mi). The lake is not far from Manzhouli , which is on a major passenger rail-line. Although there are several villages nearby, Manzhouli

24-531: A sink lake or terminal lake ) is a collection of water within an endorheic basin , or sink, with no evident outlet. Endorheic lakes are generally saline as a result of being unable to get rid of solutes left in the lake by evaporation . These lakes can be used as indicators of anthropogenic change, such as irrigation or climate change , in the areas surrounding them. Lakes with subsurface drainage are considered cryptorheic . The two main ways that endorheic lakes accumulate water are through river flow into

36-515: A spring, a tributary, or flooding), the temporal result of a lake in a sink may change. The lake could be a persistent lake , an intermittent lake , a playa lake (temporarily covered with water), or an ephemeral lake, which completely disappears (e. g. by evaporation) before reappearing in wetter seasons. These terms (playa, ephemeral lake, etc.) are sometimes used interchangeably, but there has been activity tending towards defining meanings for each term. This change would mean less confusion over

48-542: Is the nearest city of notable size. As of 1995 annual fish production was about 7,000 tons, 100 tons of shrimp , 4 kilograms of pearls , 1.5 million crayfish . Hulun Lake is also one of the key reed production areas in China. Hulun Lake and its wetlands are a Biosphere reserve and a Ramsar site of China, Dalai Lake National Nature Reserve . [REDACTED] Media related to Hulun Lake at Wikimedia Commons Endorheic lake An endorheic lake (also called

60-495: The Aralkum Desert . Endorheic lakes, because of the closed nature of their systems, are sensitive to new conditions. Records of previous environmental change are preserved in lake sediments in endorheic lakes that are being affected by climate change ; these natural records can give information about past climates and conditions of the lake. Research on these lake sediments could lead to these lakes becoming archives of

72-459: The effects of climate change . There is early evidence that in regions affected by irrigation the majority of endorheic lake area may have already been lost. Aralkum Desert The Aralkum Desert ( Uzbek : Orolqum choʻli, Оролқум чўли, Kazakh : Аралқұм шөлі, Russian : Пустыня Аралкум) is a desert that has appeared since 1960 on the seabed once occupied by the Aral Sea . It lies to

84-705: The Aral Sea to drop. While the North Aral Sea rose due to the Dike Kokaral , the South Aral Sea kept dropping, thus expanding the size of the desert, until 2010, when the South Aral Sea was partly reflooded. The water level of the South Aral Sea then began to drop again, this time more severely. In August 2021, British polar athlete Rosie Stancer led the first expedition on foot across

96-630: The Aralkum desert. Before its desertification , the Aral Sea sustained a large fishing industry that provided up to one-sixth of the Soviet Union's fish. As the water receded, many fishing vessels and other boats were left behind in the desert. In the former port of the city of Moʻynoq , rusting vessels have become a tourist attraction and the site of the Stihia Festival, Central Asia's largest electronic music festival. The sands of

108-519: The designations of different types of endorheic lakes. Many endorheic lakes exist in arid or semi-arid climates. Because these climates have limited rainfall, but also a high possibility of evaporation, endorheic lakes in these regions often experience flux in their water levels. This flux can be aggravated by anthropogenic intrusions (e.g. global warming ). In Central Asia , a large percentage of water for farming comes from surface water, like endorheic lakes, rather than precipitation. Because of

120-541: The lake (discharge) and precipitation falling into the lake. The collected water of the lake, instead of discharging , can only be lost due to either evapotranspiration or percolation (water sinking underground, e.g., to become groundwater in an aquifer ). Because of this lack of an outlet, endorheic lakes are mostly salt water rather than fresh water. The salinity in the lake gradually builds up through years as water evaporates and leaves its solutes behind. Depending on water losses, precipitation, and inflow (e.g.,

132-414: The overall lack of precipitation, farming in this area can only be sustained by irrigation. Massive amounts of irrigation in agrarian Central Asia have led to the reduction in size of endorheic lakes. The Aral Sea was once the second largest endorheic lake in the world, but anthropogenic effects such as bad irrigation practices have led to this lake's drastic decrease in size and turn into a desert named

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144-594: The south and east of what remains of the Eastern Basin Aral Sea in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan . It is currently the youngest desert in the world. While the level of the Aral Sea has fluctuated over its existence, the most recent level drop since the 1960s was caused by the Soviet Union building massive irrigation projects in the region. The severely reduced inflow caused the water level in

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