Darashkol lake in the evening, East Kazakhstan

Lake Markakol (Kazakh: Маркаколь көлі, Markakol' köli; Russian: озеро Маркаколь, ozero Markakol') is a lake in East Kazakhstan. The lake is fed with small rivers and streams. Its coasts are cut up by gulfs. It is the largest lake in the Katonkaragay District of the East Kazakhstan Province.

East Kazakhstan Province (Kazakh: Шығыс Қазақстан облысы, Şığıs Qazaqstan oblısı) is a province of Kazakhstan. It occupies the easternmost part of Kazakhstan, along both sides of the Irtysh River and Lake Zaysan. Its administrative center is Oskemen (also known as Ust-Kamenogorsk). The province borders Russia in the north and northeast and the People's Republic of China (Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region) in the south and southeast. The easternmost point of the Oblast is also very near, within 50 kilometers or so of the westernmost tip of Mongolia; however, Kazakhstan and Mongolia do not share a common border, the two countries being separated by a small part of Russia and China.It also borders the Kazakh Provinces of Pavlodar Province (to the north west), Karagandy Province (to the west) and Almaty Province (to the south).

Population: 1,396,593 (2009 Census results);1,531,024 (1999 Census results). 318,800 (as of 4/1/2011) live in the capital. The area has many Russians and Ukrainians; the capital itself has more of those two groups than Kazakhs themselves.^{[citation needed]} The area is 283,300 in square kilometers.