8. Lake Alakol
Area: 1,023 mi²
Basin countries: Kazakhstan
Lake Alakol covers over a thousand square miles of land, which is as you can imagine is really massive. The lake is located near the provinces of Almaty and Shyghyz, in Kazakhstan, and it has been made into a sanctuary in order to preserve the breeding grounds of several wetland birds and other animals. Perhaps the most noteworthy example of rare species would be the very rare relict gull.
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