Ili (river)
The Ili (Uyghur: ئىلى دەرياسى, romanized: Ili deryasi, lit. 'Ili dəryasi'; Kazakh: Ile, ئله; Russian: Или; Chinese: 伊犁河; pinyin: Yīlí Hé, Dungan: Йили хә, Xiao'erjing: اِلِ حْ; Mongolian: Ил, literally "Bareness") is a river in Northwest China and Southeastern Kazakhstan. It flows from the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region to the Almaty Region in Kazakhstan.
| Ili | |
|---|---|
Ili River | |
Map of the Lake Balkhash drainage basin showing the Ili River and its tributaries | |
| Location | |
| Country | Kazakhstan and China |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Tekes and Künes rivers |
| • elevation | Tian Shan |
| Mouth | |
• location | Lake Balkhash |
| Length | 1,439 km (894 mi) |
| Basin size | 140,000 km2 (54,000 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 480 m3/s (17,000 cu ft/s) |
Ramsar Wetland | |
| Official name | Ili River Delta and South Lake Balkhash |
| Designated | 1 January 2012 |
| Reference no. | 2020 |
It is 1,439 kilometres (894 mi) long (including its source river the Tekes), 815 kilometres (506 mi) of which is in Kazakhstan. The river originates from the Tekes and Künes rivers in Eastern Tian Shan. The Ili drains the basin between the Tian Shan and the Borohoro Mountains. Flowing into Lake Balkhash, the Ili forms a large delta with vast wetland regions of lakes, marshes and vegetation.