Botkul Lake

Botkul Lake in the Volgograd region is famous for its unusual bitter salt water, located in the northern part of the Caspian lowland, directly on the border territory with Kazakhstan. The lake is shallow, drying up in very long dry periods. Water is characterized by the presence of a bitter, pinching taste with a pronounced hydrogen sulfide smell.

The locals also know the lake as Elton (Salt mud of Botkal-Sor). Due to the saturation of salts, the largest in the Volgograd region and one of the most mineralized reservoirs in the world has an interesting, sparkling mirror surface in the sun. During spring floods, the lake is filled with meltwater and increases in volume, and on hot summer days the water level rarely exceeds one and a half meters.