Barsakelmes Island in the Aral Sea

Barsakelmes - in the past the second largest island, and now - a tract in the north of the parched Aral Sea, in the Kyzylorda region of Kazakhstan. The name of Barca-Kelmes ("you will go - you will not return") is related to the tragic fate of several families who hid on the island during the internecine war. Crossing the ice across the strait in winter, people were cut off from the coast by storms that destroyed the ice bridge. They managed to survive the winter, hunting for animals and birds, raising bonfires from saxaul and melt the snow, but in summer the pools of thawed water dried up, and all the refugees died of thirst.

Features of the island

The study of Barsakelmes began with Butakov's expedition in 1848. The island itself and the Aral Sea on the map can be viewed below. Since that time, scientists have noticed that this part of the land changes its size. This is due to the strong shallowing of the water area. For example, in the 1960s the island was 23 km long, in the 1980s - 30 km, reaching an area of 300 square meters. Km. In the 1990s, as the reservoir dried up, Barsakelmes turned into a peninsula, and by 2009 the sea around dried up, and it became a continental tract.

Climate

Barsakelmes Island The Aral Sea is located in a sharply continental climatic region. This is manifested in large seasonal and diurnal temperature fluctuations. This part of the land belongs to the North-Turanian climatic zone of the desert zone. The average July temperature is + 25 ° ... + 26 ° С, the maximum temperature is + 42 ° ... + 44 ° С. In February, in general, it is from -10 ° C to -13 ° C. The lowest temperature was recorded at -36 ° C.

The cold period is long (from the first decade of December to the first ten days of March), but it is characterized by frequent thaws with zero temperature. The period of average daily temperatures exceeding 0 ° lasts 227-237 days from 20/25 March to 8/13 November. The frost-free weather is set for a period of 173-178 days.

In summer, air humidity is low, overcast days are only 10% (in winter - 50%). Spring is short, and snow melts rapidly. The amount of precipitation is small - 126-128 mm per year, with most of them falling in the cold seasons. The rainiest months are April and October. Steady snow cover depth of 10-15 to 40 cm holds 80-90 days. The depth of freezing of the soil reaches 45 cm. In winter, severe frosty winds are frequent. The desiccation of the sea made the climate sharper, the average summer temperatures rose by 2-2.5 ° C, the winter temperatures dropped by 1-2 ° C.

Soil composition

Island Barsakelmes until 1965 had many internal reservoirs. These were mostly lagoon lakes, which were located on its western side. These water bodies had a total area of 490 hectares, their depth reached 1.5-2 meters. Soils typical for the Aral Sea are gray-brown, among which the most common solonchak and takyr-solonetsous soils. The desiccation of the sea has led to an increase in surface salinity, due to the transfer of sea salts by winds.

Relief

The island in the Aral Sea is divided into two parts according to the relief. The first is an elevated plateau in the south with a maximum height of 108 m, the second is a lowland in the north. In the north-west, north and east on the former shores are sand dunes. In width they reach two kilometers in the west and 200-440 meters in the east.

Population

Until the beginning of the 20th century, the island of Barsakelmes was uninhabited, there was no permanent population there. It was quite easy to explain. First of all, this is due to the location and peculiarities of the climate. In 1929-1939 on Barsakelmes the hunting office of Soyuzpushnina operated, there appeared apartment houses in the central manor and dugouts for shelter during the hunting season for gophers. Temporary water reservoirs were built to collect snow and rain water for the needs of people and livestock and antelopes brought to the island.

Barsakelmes Nature Reserve

In 1939, an island was established on the island, one of the tasks of which was the reproduction of rare and endangered species. As early as 1929, saigas were brought to Barsakelmes, in 1953 - kulans, which were planned to domesticate and cross with horses for mules. By the middle of the century acclimatization of gazelle, hare-hare, gopher-sandstone, pheasant and gray partridge was carried out . Kulans and gazelle were the main objects of protection, but after 2009 the herds left the peninsula and dispersed along the steppe. Saigakov by the end of the 1980s there were only 30 individuals, the rest either were shot as a result of uncontrolled hunting, or became the prey of wolves that settled on the island in those years. Presumably, part of the herd by winter ice migrated to the mainland.

Vegetable world

The island of Barsakelmes is distinguished by special representatives of the flora. Angiosperms are 257 species belonging to 172 genera of 46 families. Most of the representatives of the mare species are 41 species, including the common black arctic zone saxaul, biyurgun and boyalish. Widely distributed herbaceous saltworts, as well as varieties of quinoa and climaxoptera. The family of cereals is represented by numerous desert and fragile wildflowers, as well as feather grass. Among the composites dominated by gray wormwood. Cruciferae - 26 species, most of all descenia of Sofia and Goldbachia. Legumes are much less common, but in small plots, sandy acacia, large-crowned caragana and camel thorns are sometimes dominant . To these five families belongs 57% of the entire local flora.

In general, the flora belongs to the Turan floristic province. Endemic Kazakhstani species: Turgai feather grass, small-hulled kandym, barbed quinoa, petro-saconia stiff-haired, several species of wormwood: rod-like, five-lobed, thin-wool. Numerous thickets of tamarix. One of the decorations of Barsakelmes is deserted saxaul groves, with an altitude of 2.5-3 meters.

Animal world

There are 20 species of terrestrial vertebrates, among them the only amphibian, a green toad living in the vicinity of temporary reservoirs. Among reptiles the takir round-head is most often found. Pallas's shield-moss, snake-arrow, squeaky geckochik inhabiting the birgun-gray-wormwood desert are very common. In the dunes, there is a fast lizard. Rare species are the patterned skid and steppe turtle.

The island of Barsakelmes is rich in various representatives of birds. The avifauna consists of approximately 211 species of birds, both nesting and migratory birds. In the coastal zone there used to be the mute swan, the curly pelican, the mallard, the teal teal, the gray duck, the broad-leaved one, the stiltwoman, and the cheagrave. Large damage to the nests located on the ground on beaches and sandy islets, are inflicted by foxes. On the cliffs live Perganka, black swifts, a bald patch, a stone sparrow, jackdaws, golden bee-eaters, and in some years nesting birds - Saker and kestrel.

Mammals by 1990, there were 12 species: small jerboa and taraganchik (aborigines), white belly, sandpiper (commercial species), gray hamster, fox, wolf, etc. The former korsak was exterminated in the 1960s by foxes.

Let's sum up the results

The history of the island is quite interesting. There are legends about him. This land is unique and mysterious. Many people claimed that the time passes unnoticed (the hour on the island was equated with the day on the mainland). Large ships disappeared there, which swam into the Aral Sea. On the map, which is currently compiled, the island is not displayed, since from 2009 it ceased to exist due to the drying out of most of the water area.