Qapşağay reservoir

Kapchagay (Russian: Капчагайское водохранилище, Kapchagayskoye vodokhranilishche) or Qapshaghay Reservoir (Kazakh: Қапшағай су қоймасы, Qapşağay sw qoyması), also known as the Qapshaghay Bogeni Reservoir and sometimes referred to as Lake Kapchagay, is a major reservoir in Almaty Region in southeastern Kazakhstan, approximately 80 km (50 mi) north of Almaty. The 140 km (87 mi) long lake is formed by the Kapchagay Dam on the Ili River which flows from the mountains in the east towards Lake Balkhash to the northwest. The dam and reservoir are named for the "narrow gorge" that preceded their construction; Iliysk—which had to be moved to accommodate the reservoir—was renamed Kapchagay after the dam in 1970; it was subsequently renamed Qonayev in 2022. During the summer months the lake attracts a number of tourists from Almaty, who frequent its beachy shores on the weekends. In some parts of the Kapshagay reservoir, a coastal zone was created, which is now known as Kapshagay lake because of its impressive size (length 180 km, width 22 km, depth up to 50 m). It was created over the course of about 15 years (1965-1980) and is now one of the largest artificial lakes in Kazakhstan.