Ulungur Lake

Ulungur Lake
Satellite view
Ulungur Lake
Location	Fuhai County,Xinjiang
Coordinates	47°15′00″N87°15′00″E
Primary inflows	Ulungur River
Basincountries	China
Surface area	1,035 km2(400 sq mi)

Southeastern shore of Ulungur lake

Ulungur Lakeis located inFuhai County,Xinjiang,China.With an area of 1,035 square kilometers, thelakeis one of China's ten largest freshwater lakes. Its main tributary is theUlungur River.It is anendorheic lake,though theIrtysh Riverflows towards theArctic Oceanless than 4 km away to the northeast.

Lake Ulungur is divided into two sections, often viewed as two separate lakes: theBuluntuo Lake(or the Ulungur Lake proper) and the smallerJili Lake( cát lực hồ,46°55′00″N87°25′00″E), connected by a narrow channel. The main affluent of the Ulungur-Jili system is theUlungur River;presently, its main channel enters the Jili Lake at around46°59′30″N87°26′00″E.

Between 1960 and 1987, the lake level dropped by 4.2 m, due to the increasing use of the river water for irrigation and other needs. To alleviate this problem, in 1987 a canal was built through the narrow isthmus between Lake Ulungur and theIrtysh River,diverting some of the Irtysh water into the lake. (The canal can be seen on Google Maps, starting at47°26′31″N87°34′11″Eand ending in two outlets, at47°25′16.3″N87°33′04.6″Eand47°25′21.6″N87°33′27.5″E). By the fall of the following year this allowed the lake to return to its original level, and for the wetlands around its shore to revive; this made it possible for the lake fisheries to recover.

Fishing

Along withBosten Lake,Ulungur Lake is one of the two most important fishing lakes in Xinjiang. The main fish species in the lake are thecommon bream(Abrmais brama orientalis),Siberian dace(Leuciscus baicalensis), and theEuropean perch(Perca fluviatilis). The annual Lake Ulungur fish catch reached the record value of 4,500 tons in 1971, but has fallen since then, to more sustainable levels.

During the winter,ice fishingis carried out on the lake.