| Dead Kultuk | |
|---|---|
| Өліқолтық | |
| Óliqoltyq (Kazakh) | |
  Dead Kultuk Location in the Caspian Sea | |
| Location | Mangystau Region, Kazakhstan |
| Coordinates | 45°25′17″N 54°1′50″E / 45.42139°N 54.03056°E |
| Ocean/sea sources | Caspian Sea |
| Basin countries | Kazakhstan |
| Surface area | 500 km2 (190 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 1 m (3 ft 3 in) |
| Islands | Durneva Island |
| Settlements | 0 |
The Dead Kultuk (Kazakh: Өліқолтық[1] Ölıqoltyq; Russian: Мёртвый Култук) is a bay of the Caspian Sea in the coast of Kazakhstan, west of the Ustyurt desert.
The bay was known as 'Tsesarevich Bay' and then as 'Komsomolets Bay' in the past.[2] Durneva Island lies near the entrance to the Dead Kultuk.[3]
It had a distinct coastline in former times, but since the 1990s, with higher Caspian Sea levels, the water penetrates inland through the neck of the bay producing waterlogged marshes. Located at the mainland end of the bay, the Kaydak Inlet cuts deep into the coast extending east and then southwards. Nowadays both the bay and the inlet are filled with Caspian Sea water.[2] Currently there are oil fields in the area.[4]
- ^ Kazakhstan National Encyclopedia / Chief editor A. Nysanbayev - Almaty, 1998 ISBN 5-89800-123-9
- ^ a b Igor S. Zonn, Aleksey N Kosarev, Michael H. Glantz & Andrey G. Kostianoy, The Caspian Sea Encyclopedia, p. 156
- ^ Ostrov Durneva
- ^ "Dunga and Dead Kultuk fields". kmg2.isd.kz. 2012. Archived from the original on 2018-10-02. Retrieved 2013-05-19.