Kara-Kul

Kara-Kul
Location	Pamir Mountains
Coordinates	39°1′N 73°27′E / 39.017°N 73.45°E / 39.017; 73.45Coordinates: 39°1′N 73°27′E / 39.017°N 73.45°E / 39.017; 73.45
Lake type	impact crater lake, endorheic
Primary  outflows	none
Basin  countries	Tajikistan
Max. width	25 km
Surface area	380 km²
Max. depth	230 m
Surface  elevation	3,900 m

Kara-Kul or Qarokul (Tajik: Қарoкул) is a 25-kilometer (16-mile) diameter endorheic lake in the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan, which lies at an altitude of 3,900 meters (13,000 feet) above mean sea level. A peninsula projecting from the south shore and an island off the north shore divide the lake into two basins, a smaller eastern one which is relatively shallow, between 13 to 19 meters, and a larger western one, with depths of 221 to 230 meters. It has no drainage outlet.

Impact crater

Kara-Kul lake lies within a circular depression interpreted as a meteorite impact crater with a rim diameter of 45 kilometers (28 miles). The impact event occurred less than 5 million years ago. The Kara-Kul impact structure remained unidentified until it was discovered though studies of imagery taken from space.^[1]

References

• "Kara-Kul Structure, Tajikistan". NASA Earth Observatory. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16564. Retrieved 2006-05-25. 
• "Qarakul Lake". Informational Portal of Tourism in Tajikistan. http://www.tourism.tj/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=45&Itemid=. Retrieved 2008-05-26. 
• "Kara-Kul Lake". Information Portal Tourism in Tajikistan. http://www.tourism.tj/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=35&Itemid=. Retrieved 2008-06-01.  IE only (Russian).

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