The Turgay Depression, also known as Turgay Basin,Outlook for the development of underground gasification of coal in the Turgay Basin Turgay Trough, and Turgay HollowKumkeshu sand dunes (; ), is a structural basin in Kazakhstan.Тургайская ложбина; Great Soviet Encyclopedia in 30 vols. — Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov. - 3rd ed. - M. Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978. (in Russian)Google Earth
The depression is named after the Turgay River, which flows southwards along a stretch of the trough.Tectonic units and division of the South Turgay Basin. The Lakes of the lower Turgay and Irgiz Nature Reserve is a protected area located in the southern sector of the basin.
Geography The Turgay Depression runs across the Turgay Plateau in north-western Kazakhstan. It stretches from north to south and connects the West Siberian Plain to the north with the Turan Depression. It has a length of and an average width between and with a maximum of . The Ubagan River, a right tributary of the Tobol flows along it in the northern direction. Among the rivers flowing southwards, the main ones are the Turgay with its tributaries Irgiz and Ulkayak, including the Saryozen through the Tauysh channel, as well as the Uly-Zhylanshyk. The lowest parts of the depression are occupied by numerous lakes, with mostly saline or bittern-salty waters, such as Kushmurun, Koybagar, Tyuntyugur, Aksuat, Teniz, Sarymoin, Sarykopa, Akkol, Barakkol and Shalkarteniz.Geographical position, geological structure and surface topography of the south of Western Siberia (in Russian)
Geologically the entire trough corresponds to the Turgai tectonic subsidence of ancient alluvial and lacustrine deposits. The Turgay Plateau rises between the Urals and Mugodzhar Hills in the west and the Kazakh Steppe in the east.Тургайское плато, Great Soviet Encyclopedia Deposits of iron ore and other minerals occur in the basin, as well as significant oilfields in the southern part.Geologic structure, oil and gas potential of the Turgai Depression, and goals of regional geological and geophysical exploration
The northern part of the basin is characterized by steppe and the southern part by semi-desert, with the Barsuki Desert at the southern end near the Aral Sea. In the spring and summer, large swathes of it are used for pasture.
See also Geology of Kazakhstan Kazakh Steppe Outline of plate tectonics
References
External links Characteristics of strike-slip inversion structures of the Karatau fault and their petroleum geological significances in the south Turgay Basin, Kazakhstan Kushmurun Lake - BirdLife Data Zone