Emin Valley

The Emin Valley (Chinese: 额敏谷地; pinyin: Émǐn gǔdì) is located on the China-Kazakhstan border, in Central Asia. It has an area of about 65,000 square kilometres (25,000 sq mi).

Administratively, the Emin Valley occupies areas of Tacheng Prefecture in the Xinjiang Region of northwestern China; and in East Kazakhstan Province of eastern Kazakhstan.

Ecology

The Emin Valley has a steppe ecosystem of mostly grasslands; with two saline lakes, Alakol and Sasykkol; and mountains with temperate climates.

The Emin Valley Steppe is a Palearctic ecoregion in the Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Biome. It lies within the vast and larger Eurasian Steppe.

Hydrology

Orographically, the Emil Valley is an endorrheic basin. In the north, the Tarbagatai Mountains separate it from the Lake Zaysan basin, which is part of the basin of the Irtysh River, eventually draining into the Arctic Ocean. In the southeast, another series of mountain ranges separate it from the Dzungarian Basin (Gurbantünggüt Desert).

The Emin Valley's main watercourse is the Emin (Emil) River, which flows in the general western direction, receiving numerous streams flowing from the Tarbagatai Mountains and carrying their water to Lake Alakol.

Lake Alakol and Lake Sasykkol, situated in the western (Kazakhstan) part of the valley, are the homes of the rare Dalmatian pelican and relict gull.

See also

• Eurasian Steppe
• Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands

External links

Palearctic temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Alai-Western Tian Shan steppe	Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
Altai steppe and semi-desert	Kazakhstan
Central Anatolian steppe	Turkey
Daurian forest steppe	China, Mongolia, Russia
Eastern Anatolian montane steppe	Armenia, Iran, Turkey
Emin Valley steppe	China, Kazakhstan
Faroe Islands boreal grasslands	Faroe Islands, Denmark
Gissaro-Alai open woodlands	Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
Kazakh forest steppe	Kazakhstan, Russia
Kazakh steppe	Kazakhstan, Russia
Kazakh Uplands	Kazakhstan
Middle East steppe	Iraq, Syria
Mongolian-Manchurian grassland	China, Mongolia, Russia
Pontic steppe	Kazakhstan, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria
Sayan Intermontane steppe	Russia
Selenge-Orkhon forest steppe	Mongolia, Russia
South Siberian forest steppe	Russia
Tian Shan foothill arid steppe	China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan