Located in Kazakhstan, Lake Balkhash is the 12th largest lake in the world, but that characteristic is hardly what makes it interesting. This lake is bizarre because half of the lake consists of freshwater and the other half is saltwater.

 

Balkhash maintains this unlikely balance in part because the two halves are joined by a narrow straight that is 3.5 kilometers wide and six meters deep.

 

There is some concern that Lake Balkhash could dry up like the Aral Sea, since many of its source waters are being diverted.