To regulate the flow of the Ili river which was difficult to use for irrigating the valley due to the low water level, in 1965-1970 the dam of the Kapchagai hydroelectric power station was built, and it has formed the Kapchagai water reservoir.
The length of the Kapchagai reservoir is 180 km, the width is 22 km, and the depth is 45 m (maximum values). The Kapchagai reservoir is the second largest reservoir in Kazakhstan (after the Bukhtarma reservoir on the Irtysh river).
The filling of the Kapchagai reservoir resulted in formation of a whole complex of wetlands in the delta of the Ili river. That have created favorable conditions for nesting of many species of birds.
A part of the Kapchagai reservoir coast forms the southern border of the Altyn-Emel National Park. Here the extreme western end of the Dzhungarian Alatau (Sholak Mountains) is located.
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