Ili

The Ili River flows through northwest China and southeast Kazakhstan. It flows from the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region's Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture to Kazakhstan's Almaty Region.

It stretches for 1,439 kilometers (894 miles) (including its source river Tekes), with 815 kilometers (506 miles) in Kazakhstan. The Tekes and Künes rivers in Eastern Tian Shan feed into the river. The Ili River flows between the Tian Shan and the Borohoro Mountains, draining the basin between them. The Ili produces a massive delta with enormous wetland regions including lakes, marshes, and flora as it flows into Lake Balkhash.

The Ili river was first mentioned in the lexicon of Turkic languages by Mahmud al-Kashgari. The following is how the author explains it in the book: "Ili is a river's name. On its banks live the Turkic tribes of Yaghma, Tokhsi, and Chiglig. The river is known in Turkey as the Amu Darya (Jayhoun)." The name may have come from the Uyghur term Il, which means hook, and refers to the river's topographical shape.

The Western Turkic Kaganate (552–638 AD) was divided into the Nushibi and the Dulu by the Ili River Treaty of 638 AD. The Ili River was also designated as the border between the two states. With the increasing demand for water in both China and Kazakhstan in the twenty-first century, environmentalists and politicians in Kazakhstan are concerned about the management of the cross-border Ili River (who feel that their country may not get enough water flowing in from China any more). In the summer, the amount of precipitation exceeds 150-250 cubic meters.

Length: 1,439 km (894 mi)