Khanka Lake

Khanka Lake , is a transboundary freshwater body located on the border between Heilongjiang Province, Northeast China and Primorsky Krai, Russia . It is situated 120 km from Jixi. The area of the lake is 4,190 km? of which 3,030 km? are located in Russia, and 1,160 km?—in China. The area around the lake is an important wetland habitat and forms a National Nature Reserve on the Chinese side and the Khanka Lake Nature Reserve on the Russian side. It is a remarkable site for nature protection, eco-tourism as well as scientific research . The rare Lesser White-fronted Goose makes its home upon this lake. The lake area located on Chinese territory belongs to the Chinese government and is exploited by collective farms for fishery, agriculture and livestock raising.

Physical data

Khanka Lake is the name given to two lakes separated by a 10 m sandy hill. Lake shores are swampy, except in the north-west.

The lake's drainage basin is an alluvial plain of around 16,890 km?, of which 97% is on Russian territory. With 4,000 to 4,400 km? of water plane area, it is the largest water body of Northeast China. It is fed by 23 rivers , but the only outflow of the lake is the Songacha River. The lake's average depth is 4.5 m, maximum depth—10.6 m. Its average volume is 18.3 km?, maximum—22.6 km?. The lake belongs to the Ussuri River System, which is part of Amur River System.

Maximum annual temperature is 21.2°C, minimum is ?19.2°C. Rainfall mainly occurs in summer, reaching 750 mm annually. The residence time of Khanka Lake is one year.

Miscellaneous

In the Neolithic era, there was a well-developed culture in the area of the Khanka Lake.