Editing Lake Zaysan

{{Short description|Lake in Kazakhstan}}
{{Infobox body of water
 | name                 = Lake Zaysan 
 | native_name          = {{native name|kk|Зайсан көлі}}
 | image                = Zaysan.jpg
 | caption              = 
 | image_bathymetry     = 
 | caption_bathymetry   = 
 | location             = 
 | coords               = {{Coord|48|00|N|84|00|E|region:KZ_type:waterbody|display=inline,title}}
 | pushpin_map          = Kazakhstan
 | lake_type            = [[Ancient lake]]
 | inflow               = [[Kara Irtysh]] (Black Irtysh), [[Kendyrlyk]]
 | outflow              = [[Irtysh River]] (White Irtysh)
 | catchment            = 
 | basin_countries      = Kazakhstan
 | length               = {{convert|105|km|abbr=on}}
 | width                = {{convert|48|km|abbr=on}}
 | area                 = {{convert|1,810|km2|abbr=on}}
 | depth                = 
 | max-depth            = {{convert|15|m|abbr=on}}
 | volume               = 
 | residence_time       = 
 | shore                = 
 | elevation            = {{convert|420|m|abbr=on}}
 | islands              = 
 | cities               = 
}}

'''Lake Zaysan''' or '''Zaisan''', also known by [[#Names|other names in other languages]], is a freshwater [[lake]] in [[Tarbagatay District]], [[East Kazakhstan Region]], [[Kazakhstan]]. It is the largest lake in the region. The lake is generally frozen from the beginning of November to the end of April, but still has an abundance of fish.

The lake has been drying in the modern era, but that process has been stabilized by the construction of the [[Bukhtarma Hydroelectric Power Plant]], of whose reservoir it's now a part.  

{{anchor|Name|Etymology|Toponymy}}

==Names==
The [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]] name of the lake is ''Zaisan kölı'' ({{lang|kk|Зайсан көлі}} or {{lang|fa|زايسان كولى}}), pronounced {{IPA|kk|zɑjˈsɑn kɵˈlɪ|}}. It derives from the [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]] ''Zaisan nuur'' ({{lang|mn|Зайсан нуур}}), meaning "Noble Lake". Aside from its own nobility in size and beauty, it was used as the headquarters for various [[orda (organization)|hordes]] and [[khanate]]s, including the [[Dzungar Khanate]]. In [[Dungan language|the language]] of the local [[Dungan people]], it is ''Jesonpe'' or ''Zhaisaonpe'' ({{lang|dng|Җэсонпә}}). In [[Russian language|Russian]], it is ''Ozero Zajsan'' ({{lang|ru|Озеро Зайсан}}) and, in [[Chinese language|Chinese]], ''Zhāisāng Pō'' {{nowrap|(<small>[[traditional characters|t]]</small> {{lang|zh|{{linktext|齋桑|泊}}}},}} {{nowrap|<small>[[simplified characters|s]]</small> {{lang|zh|{{linktext|斋桑|泊}}}},}} {{nowrap|[[Xiao'erjing|x]] {{lang|ar|جَیْ‌سَانْ پُوَ}}).}}

==Geography==
The lake lies at an altitude of {{convert|420|m|abbr=on}}, in a hollow between the [[Altai Mountains|Altai]] and the [[Tarbagatai Mountains]]. It is {{convert|105|km|abbr=on}} long with an approximate width of between {{convert|22|and|48|km|abbr=on}}. The major river flowing into it is the ''[[Kara Irtysh]]'' (Black Irtysh) and ''Kendyrlyk'' from the east; its only outlet is the ''[[Irtysh River|Ertis]]'', or Irtysh River.

Since the construction of the [[Bukhtarma Hydroelectric Power Plant|Bukhtarma Dam]] on the Irtysh, downstream from the Zaysan, the lake has risen around {{convert|6|m|ft|abbr=on}} above its natural level. As a result, the area of the lake has (essentially) doubled, from about 1,800&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> to 3,500&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup><ref>''Soviet Encyclopedic Dictionary, Moscow'', 1980, p. 451.</ref> (or even to 5,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>);<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/656085/Lake-Zaysan|title=Lake Zaysan &#124; lake, Kazakhstan &#124; Britannica}}</ref> thus, in some sources, the lake is indicated as part of an artificial reservoir.<ref>''Soviet Encyclopedic Dictionary, Moscow'', 1980, p. 451.</ref> Man-made reservoirs are abundant over a large portion of the surrounding area.

[[Lake Baikal]] is often considered the most [[ancient lake]] in the world, as clear evidence shows that it is 25–30 million years old.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/754|title=Lake Baikal – UNESCO World Heritage Centre|access-date=8 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170726103013.htm|title=Lake Baikal: Protection of a unique ecosystem|website=ScienceDaily|date=26 July 2017|access-date=8 March 2018}}</ref> Lake Zaysan, however, may be even older, dating possibly from the [[Cretaceous]] period, with a potential age in excess of 66 million years old<ref name=Lucas2012>{{cite journal| author1=Lucas| author2=Bray| author3=Emry| author4=Hirsch |year=2012 | title=Dinosaur eggshell and Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary in the Zaysan Basin, eastern Kazakstan | journal=Journal of Stratigraphy | volume=36 | issue=2 | pages=1376–1382 | doi=10.1016/j.proenv.2011.09.220 | doi-access=free }}</ref> (most probably around 70 million years<ref name=Dorfman2011>{{cite journal| author=Dorfman, B.F.|year=2011 | title=Zaysan-the Only Surviving Cretaceous Lake-May be Lost | journal=Procedia Environmental Sciences | volume=10 | issue=B | pages=1376–1382 | doi=10.1016/j.proenv.2011.09.220 | doi-access=free }}</ref>); the exact age is debatable, and surrounded with some uncertainty.<ref name=WorldAtlasOldestLakes>{{cite web | url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-oldest-lakes-in-the-world.html |title=The Oldest Lakes in the World |date=25 August 2017 | publisher=World Atlas |access-date=8 March 2018 }}</ref> A clear indication of Lake Zaysan's age has proven hard to find, although some geological studies of the Zaysan Basin have been undertaken.<ref>''AAPG Studies in Geology #46'', (2000). Chapter 29</ref> Modern geological analysis of the entire field, apparently, supports an exceptionally old age for Lake Zaysan.<ref>L. E. Popov et al (2009)</ref><ref>Kröner et al</ref>

==History==
[[File:Zaysan 2.jpg|thumb|A road near the coast of Lake Zaysan]]
[[File:Zaysan 1.jpg|thumb|Lake Zaysan]]

In the third century B.C.E., the lake marked the rough border between the tribes of the [[Xiongnu|Xiongnu Confederation]] and the [[Yuezhi]]. Later, in the early 2nd century, the Xiongnu successfully seized much of the area from the Yuezhi.

During the Han-Xiongnu wars, Lake Zaysan and the Black Irtysh were a point of contention between the Chinese Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu, with a notable campaign made in the region by general [[Huo Qubing]].

From the early 4th century, Lake Zaysan and the Irtysh on either side of it came under the control of three successive Turkic empires: the [[Rouran Khaganate]], the [[First Turkic Khaganate]], and the [[Second Turkic Khaganate]]. After the reformation of the nomadic state by the Gokturks in the 500s and their subsequent division into eastern and western halves, Lake Zaysan was conquered by China's Tang Dynasty in the 600s during the Battle of Irtysh River.

After the loss of the Tang's northern possessions, the lake came to be governed by various nomadic tribes of the Karluks and the Oirats during the middle medieval period from the 700s–1000s. Two major powers controlling the region from the 1000s–1215 were the Kara-Khanids and the Qara-Khitai, the latter being overrun by the Mongol generel Jebe in 1216. From thence, Lake Zaysan passed into Mongol possession. When the empire was yet unified, the lake served as a waypoint for large Mongol expeditions into Central and Western Asia from Mongolia, such as those of [[Genghis Khan]] (1224) and [[Hulagu Khan]] (1251).

The region continued to be administered under the Yuan Dynasty, before later being divided between local nomadic powers. Timur launched a military expedition to the lake and the Black Irtysh in 1391 in pursuit of the Moghul khan Qumaruddin Dughlat.

The first Russian to reach the area was Ivan Bukholts who ascended the Irtysh to build a fort and search for gold. In 1715 he was driven back downriver by the [[Oirats]], who had established the [[Zunghar Khanate]] in the region.

The Chinese [[Qing Empire]] [[Ten Great Campaigns#The Dzungars and pacification of Xinjiang (1755 - 1757)|conquered]] the Zunghar state in the 1750s. This prompted an increase in the Russian authorities' attention to their borderland; in 1756, the [[Orenburg]] Governor [[Ivan Neplyuyev]] even proposed the annexation of the Lake Zaysan region, but this project was forestalled by Chinese successes.<ref>{{harvnb|Abramof|1865|p=65}}</ref>  Concerns were raised in Russia  (1759) about the (theoretical) possibility of a Chinese fleet sailing from Lake Zaysan down the Irtysh and into Western Siberia. A Russian expedition visited Lake Zaysan in 1764, and concluded that such a riverine invasion would not be likely. Nonetheless, a chain of Russian pickets was established on the [[Bukhtarma River]], north of Lake Zaysan.<ref>{{harvnb|Abramof|1865|p=66}}</ref> Thus the border between the two empires in the Irtysh basin became roughly delineated, with a (sparse) chain of guard posts on both sides.

The situation on the Zaysan in the mid-19th century is described in a report by A. Abramof (1865). Even though the Zaysan region was recognized by both parties as part of the Qing Empire, it had been annually used by fishing expeditions sent by the [[Siberian Cossacks|Siberian Cossack Host]]. These summer expeditions started in 1803. And in 1822–25, their range was expanded through the entire Lake Zaysan and to the mouth of the Black Irtysh. Through the mid-19th century, the Qing presence on the upper Irtysh was mostly limited to the annual visit of the Qing ''[[amban]]'' from [[Chuguchak]] to one of the Cossacks' fishing stations (''Batavski Piket'').<ref>{{harvnb|Abramof|1865|pp=62–63}}; see also the border shown on the map before p. 65.</ref>

The border between the Russian and the Qing empires in the Irtysh basin was established along the line fairly similar to China's modern border with Russia and Kazakhstan by the [[Convention of Peking]] of 1860.<ref>Articles 2 and 3 in the [[:ru:s:Пекинский договор (1860)|Russian text of the treaty]]</ref> The actual border line pursuant to the convention was drawn by the Protocol of [[Chuguchak]] (1864), leaving Lake Zaysan on the Russian side.<ref>(See [[:File:China-Russia border - protocol of Chuguchak 1864.jpg|the map]])</ref><ref>[http://www.npm.gov.tw/exh98/frontier/en2.html The Lost Frontier: the treaty maps that changed Qing's northwestern boundaries]</ref> The Qing Empire's military presence in the Irtysh basin crumbled during the [[Dungan revolt (1862–77)]]. After the fall of the rebellion and the reconquest of Xinjiang by [[Zuo Zongtang]], the border between the Russian and the Qing empires in the Irtysh basin was further slightly readjusted, in Russia's favor, by the [[Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1881)]].

==See also==
*[[Balkhash-Alakol Basin]]

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*{{citation
|first=A.|last=Abramof
|title=The lake Nor-Zaysan and its neighborhood
|others=translated by John Michell
|publisher=J. Murray |year=1865
|journal=Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London|volume=35
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YuoRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA59
|pages=58–69|doi=10.2307/3698078|jstor=3698078
}}
* ''AAPG Studies in Geology #46'', Chapter 29: "Upper Cretaceous-Cenozoic Lacustrine Deposits of the Zaysan Basin, Eastern Kazakhstan." Spencer G. Lucas, Robert J. Emry, Viacheslav Chkhikvadze, Bolat Bayshashov, Lyubov A. Tyutkova, Pyruza A. Tleuberdina, Ayzhan Zhamangara. AAPG Special Volumes. Volume Lake Basins Through Space and Time, Pages 335 - 340 (2000)
* L. E. Popov, Michael G. Bassett, V. G. Zhemchuzhnikov, L. E. Holmer and I. A. Klishevich, "Gondwanan faunal signatures from Early Palaeozoic terranes of Kazakhstan and Central Asia: evidence and tectonic implications." Geological Society, London, Special Publications 2009, 325:23-64
* A. Kröner, B.F. Windley, G. Badarch, O. Tomurtogoo, E. Hegner, B.M. Jahn, S. Gruschka, E.V. Khain, A. Demoux, and M.T.D. Wingate, "[http://memoirs.gsapubs.org/content/200/181.abstract Accretionary growth and crust formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the Arabian-Nubian shield, Memoirs]."

{{Lakes of Kazakhstan}}

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[[Category:Ancient lakes|Zaysan]]
[[Category:Lakes of Kazakhstan|Zaysan]]
[[Category:Altai Mountains]]
[[Category:Irtysh basin|LZaysan]]