The lake is located 35km (22mi) to the west of Astrakhanka, the district capital. The now abolished village of Kainarskoye (Kazakh: Қайнарское), part of the Uzynkol Rural District, was located by the southern shore.[2] Three fishermen on a boat were lost in the lake in 2020. After a 3-day long search the bodies of two of them were located, but the body of the third was found only two weeks later.[4][5]
Geography
Barshyn is a freshwater lake part of the Ishim river basin. It is located about 4km (2.5mi) to the southwest of the Ishim river channel. The lake is exorheic; a watercourse flows from the southwestern end and the lake water drains through an intermittent riverbed towards the east.[6]
The water of lake Barshyn is fresh. The lake is relatively deep. It usually freezes at the beginning of November and thaws by the end of April. Lake Uzynkol lies 9km (5.6mi) to the southeast and Alakol47 kilometers (29mi) in the same direction.[6][3]
Flora and fauna
The lakeshore is covered with reeds and there is much submerged aquatic vegetation. The reeds are harvested by local people. Fish and birds caught in the lake are important for the economy of nearby villages.[7]
12Nature of Kazakhstan Encyclopedia / General editor. B. O. Jacob. - Almaty: "Kazakh Encyclopedia" LLP, 2011. T.Z. - 304 pages. ISBN 9965-893-64-0 (T.Z.), ISBN 9965-893-19-5
↑P. P. Filonets, T. R. Omarov; Lakes of Northern, Western and Eastern Kazakhstan. GUGMS - under the Council of Ministers of the USSR , KazNIGMI , SG AN Kazakh SSR. - Leningrad: Gidrometeoizdat, 1974. - p. 29.
