Kamysh-Samara
At the northern edge of the Ryn Desert is Kamysh-Samara. The 60km x 100km plain was once home to at least a dozen lakes, with
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The Aktolagay Plateau is a cluster of freestanding chalk cliffs on the Aktobe-Atyrau regional border and 50km east of the smaller Akkegershin Plateau. It’s 50km long and less than 10km wide, although some report the range as larger, despite maps indicating otherwise. The southernmost end is 35km from the Emba River and its northern end is 25km from the Sagyz River.
The most recognisable feature in Aktolagay is a chess piece-like hunk of rock nicknamed the ‘Queen’. Names for other formations include ‘white boat’, ‘sphinx’, and ‘Titanic’. In many ways, the area looks like a smaller and chalkier version of South Dakota’s Badlands. Like with most other parts of western Kazakhstan’s desert areas, it was once part of the Paratethys Sea. If you look closely, you can find prehistoric shark teeth, ammonites, belemnites, and the remains of other marine organisms, in addition to gypsum crystals.
The plateau’s only stream is the ephemeral Terisakkan, originating in the north section and flowing east to join the Sagyz. It’s important to distinguish this from another river of the same name in the Kyzylorda Region, which feeds into the Ishim, then the Irtysh, and ultimately the Ob.
The best time to visit, as with most places in Kazakhstan’s arid regions, is mid–late May and early autumn. Given the Aktolagay’s remoteness, be sure to allocate two days and go with more than one car, if you can. Also, don’t count on any cell phone connection.
Aktolagay Plateau (Aqtolağai Üstırtı/Плато Актолагай): 47.4523, 55.0874
Akkegershin Plateau viewpoint (Aqkegerşın Üstırtı/Плато Аккегершин): 47.3200, 54.4090
KE-10 road: 47.0879, 54.0456
1:500k Soviet map of the Aktolagay Plateau, shown in the top left of the centre, marked as “Гряда Актолагай”. Akkegershin is in the top-left quarter, in the raised area just south of Mount Imankara, marked as “г. Иманкара (200m)”.
1:200k Soviet map of the Aktolagay Plateau, shown on the left third of the map.
СНИКМА’s drone video of Aktolagay.
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