Lake Chebarkul

Chebarkul Lake
озеро Чебаркуль (Russian)
Chebarkul Lake
Lake Chebarkul located within the Ob River watershed
Location	Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia
Coordinates	54°57′36″N 60°19′48″E / 54.96000°N 60.33000°E / 54.96000; 60.33000
Primary inflows	Elovka River
Primary outflows	Koelga River, a small tributary of the Tobol[1]
Catchment area	169 km2 (65 sq mi)[1]
Basin countries	Russia
Surface area	19.8 km2 (7.6 sq mi)[1]
Max. depth	12 m (39 ft)
Water volume	0.154 km3 (125,000 acre⋅ft)
Surface elevation	320 m (1,050 ft)[2][3]
Frozen	November until April
Islands	7
Settlements	Chebarkul

Lake Chebarkul (Russian: озеро Чебаркуль) is a lake in Chebarkulsky District, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, on the slopes of the southern Urals. The town of Chebarkul lies on its eastern shore, and Chelyabinsk, the administrative center of Chelyabinsk Oblast, is located about 70 kilometres (43 mi) to the northeast. The name of the lake, and the city of the same name, comes from Turkic and means "Beautiful, colorful lake."^[2]

Mostly fed by snowmelt from mountain streams, the lake freezes in November and stays icebound until April. The lake is the source of the Koelga River, which in turn flows into the Uvelka, Uy, Tobol, Irtysh, and Ob Rivers. The Ob finally empties into the Arctic Ocean.

There are several wooded islands, including Grachev, Golets, the Ribatskies, and Korablik Islands. The Krutik, Marin and Nazarychev peninsulas extend into the lake. Rest homes and sanatoria are located on the shores.^[2] Lake Chebarkul is the largest of several lakes in the region, which collectively take on the name "Chebarkulsky lakes."

Fish that can be found in the lake include tench, carp, crucian carp, bream, pike, and perch.^[2]