Charyn

The Charyn (Russian: Чарын, Kazakh: Шарын, Sharyn) is a river in the Almaty Province of Kazakhstan.

It flows through the Charyn National Park and merges into the Ili River, which is considered to be the largest artery of Lake Balkhash.

The Charyn is 427 kilometres (265 mi) long, and has a drainage basin of 7,720 square kilometres (2,980 sq mi).[1] It runs through the territory of Kegen and Uighur regions, forming the Charyn Canyon.[2][3]

The Sharyn river is full-flowing due to many tributaries that flow into it from the Northern slope of the Terskei and Kungei Alatau ranges.

With its waters, it cuts a canyon through the Eastern parts of the Zhalanash depression and the Toraigyr mountains. In the Zhalanash valley, the canyon is called Aktogay, which means White stream in Kazakh, due to its trapezoidal shape.