Turgai

a river in Turgai and Aktiubinsk oblasts, Kazakh SSR. The Turgai measures 825 km in length and drains an area of 157,000 sq km. It is formed by the confluence of the Zhaldama and Kara-Turgai rivers, which originate on the western border of the Kazakh Melkosopochnik; it flows through the Turgai Hollow and disappears in the drainless Shalkarteniz Depression. The Turgai is fed primarily by snow. The water in the lower course becomes salty in summer. The river freezes in November, and the ice breaks up in April.