The sediment plume travelling through the Uzynaral Strait is most likely due to waves stirring up sediments from the bottom of the lake. This has led to a greater reflection and therefore a brighter water color in this part of the lake.
The north banks of Lake Balkhash are high and rocky while the south banks are low and sandy, with large belts covered with thickets of reeds and numerous little lakes. The waters of the lake periodically flood these low-lying banks.
A high existence of sea ice can be seen in intense blue-greenish colors particularly near the southern coastline. This color is due to ice having a higher reflectance in the noticeable parts of the spectrum than in the near-infrared. Balkhash normally remains frozen from the end of November to the start of April, with this image recorded on November 29, 2021.
Balkhash usually stays frozen from the end of November to the beginning of April, with this image caught on November 29, 2021.
South of Balkhash lies the Saryesik-Atyrau Desert, which stretches for around 400 km (250 miles) in east Kazakhastan. There are a variety of small lakes, ponds, and wetlands in the desert (visible in brown), along with periodic grasslands, that support a varied animal and bird population.
Sentinel-2 is a two-satellite objective to provide the protection and data delivery required for Europes Copernicus program. The objectives regular revisits over the very same location and high spatial resolution enable changes in water bodies to be closely kept an eye on.
This image is also featured on the Earth From Space video program embedded above.
Lake Balkhash, the largest lake in Central Asia, is included in this false-color image caught on November 29, 2021, by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 objective. Credit: Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel information (2021 ), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Lake Balkhash, the largest lake in Central Asia, is included in this false-color satellite image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.
The lake, which is located in east-central Kazakhastan, is around 605 km (376 miles) in length from east to west, with an optimum depth of around 25 m (82 feet). The lakes size differs depending upon water balance, with its area varying from around 15,000 sq km to 19,000 sq km (5,800 sq miles to 7,300 sq miles).
Jutting out into the lake is the Sarymsek Peninsula which divides Balkhash into 2 separate hydraulic parts. The west part is wide and shallow with its water on this side suitable and particularly fresh for drinking. The east part, on the other hand, is reasonably deep and narrow, with its waters on this side of the basin salty and brackish. The 2 parts of the lake are unified by a narrow strait, the Uzynaral noticeable in the center of the image, with a depth of around 6 m (20 feet).
Jutting out into the lake is the Sarymsek Peninsula which divides Balkhash into 2 separate hydraulic parts. The east part, on the other hand, is reasonably deep and narrow, with its waters on this side of the basin salted and brackish. The 2 parts of the lake are united by a narrow strait, the Uzynaral visible in the center of the image, with a depth of around 6 m (20 feet).