Lake Balkhash in the context of "Karatal River"

The Oghuz Turks (Middle Turkic: ٱغُز, romanized: Oγuz) were a western Turkic people who spoke the Oghuz branch of the Turkic language family. In the 8th century, they formed a tribal confederation conventionally named the Oghuz Yabgu State in Central Asia. Today, much of the populations of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan are descendants of Oghuz Turks. The term Oghuz was gradually supplanted by the terms Turkmen and Turcoman (Ottoman Turkish: تركمن, romanized: Türkmen or Türkmân) by the 13th century.

The Oghuz confederation migrated westward from the Jeti-su area after a conflict with the Karluk allies of the Uyghurs. In the 9th century, the Oghuz from the Aral steppes drove Pechenegs westward from the Emba and Ural River region. In the 10th century, the Oghuz inhabited the steppe of the rivers Sari-su, Turgai and Emba north of Lake Balkhash in modern-day Kazakhstan.

The Ili River is a river in northwestern China and southeastern Kazakhstan. It flows from the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region to the Almaty Region in Kazakhstan.

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 (in the endorheic Balkhash-Alakol Basin), the Ili forms a large delta with vast wetland regions of lakes, marshes and vegetation.

The Balkhash-Alakol Basin or Balkhash-Alakol Depression(Kazakh: Балқаш-Алакөл ойысы; Russian: Балхаш-Алакольская котловина), is a flat structural basin in southeastern Kazakhstan.

The basin is named after lakes Balkhash and Alakol, the largest waterbodies in the trough. The main city in the area is Balkhash.

Balkhash or Balqash is a city in Kazakhstan, located on the northern shore of Lake Balkhash, on the Bay Bertys, and in the south of the Kazakh Uplands. The population of the city is 68,833 (2009 census results); 65,431 (1999 census results).

Balkhash was founded in 1937 as an industrial city centred on the mining and smelting of copper, which is still being exploited in the area. The city lies approximately 500 km west of the Chinese border, on the north side of the lake at an altitude of 440 m.

The Oghuz Turks (Middle Turkic: ٱغُز, romanized: Oγuz) were a western Turkic people who spoke the Oghuz branch of the Turkic language family. In the 8th century, they formed a tribal confederation conventionally named the Oghuz Yabgu State in Central Asia. Today the Turkmen are descendants of Oghuz Turks, while much of the populations of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan are speaking Oghuz languages. The term Oghuz was gradually supplanted by the terms Turkmen and Turcoman (Ottoman Turkish: تركمن, romanized: Türkmen or Türkmân) by the 13th century.

The Oghuz confederation migrated westward from the Jeti-su area after a conflict with the Karluk allies of the Uyghurs. In the 9th century, the Oghuz from the Aral steppes drove Pechenegs westward from the Emba and Ural River region. In the 10th century, the Oghuz inhabited the steppe of the rivers Sari-su, Turgai and Emba north of Lake Balkhash in modern-day Kazakhstan.