Ashchysu (Shagan)

{{About||other meanings|Ashchysu (disambiguation){{!}}Ashchysu}}

{{Infobox river

| name = Ashchysu

| other_name = Ащысу

| image = Shagan-Ashchysu-23 59 Sentinel-2 L2A.jpg

| image_caption = Lake at the confluence of the Shagan and Ashchysu rivers

| source1_location = Chingiztau

| source1 = Kazakh Uplands

| source1_elevation = {{convert|1050|m}}

| source1_coordinates = {{coord|48|31|57|N|81|03|54|E|source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:RU}}

| mouth = Shagan

| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|49|55|17|N|79|0|47|E|source:wikidata|display=it}}

| progression = Shagan → {{RIrtysh}}

| length = {{convert|305|km|mi|abbr=on}}

| discharge1_avg = {{convert|0.34|m3/s|abbr=on}} (near Ushbiik railway station)

| basin_size = {{convert|18100|km2|abbr=on}}

| pushpin_map = Kazakhstan

| pushpin_map_size =

| pushpin_map_caption= Mouth location in Kazakhstan

}}

The Ashchysu ({{langx|kk|Ащысу}}) is a river in the Abai Region, Kazakhstan and a tributary of the Shagan, of the Irtysh basin. The river is {{convert|349|km|mi|abbr=on}} long and the area of its basin is {{convert|18100|km2|abbr=on}}.Google Earth

==Geography==

The Ashchysu has its sources in the northeastern slopes of the Chingiztau, a range of the eastern sector of the Kazakh Uplands, about {{convert|30|km|mi|abbr=on}} northwest of the city of Ayagoz. It heads initially westwards, then it bends southwestwards and passes Ushbiik, then, in its lower course it bends again and heads roughly northwestwards. Finally it meets the right bank of the Shagan {{convert|110|km|mi|abbr=on}} to the southwest of Semey, former Semipalatinsk, city. The confluence is located on the Balapan field of the Semipalatinsk Test Site complex. A lake was formed as a result of an experimental nuclear explosion to create a reservoir in January 1965.[https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/33/023/33023291.pdf International Nuclear Information System (INIS)]

The Ashchysu is fed mainly by snow and in the summer it often dries up.[http://bse.sci-lib.com/article085233.html Ащису (река в Семипалатинской обл.)]; Great Soviet Encyclopedia in 30 vols. — Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov. - 3rd ed. - M. Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969–1978. (in Russian){{cite web|url=https://maps.vlasenko.net/smtm1000/m-44.jpg|title=M-44 Topographic Chart (in Russian)|access-date=4 October 2022}}