The shores of the lake rise almost sheer to over 1,800 m. From this lake issues the Biya, which joins the Katun at Biysk, and then meanders through the prairies of the north-west of the Altai.
Bashkaus, Chulyshman in Chulcha so trije pritoki jezera Teletskoye (dolžine 80 km, največja širina 5 km, nadmorska višina 520 m, površina 230,8 kvadratnih kilometrov, največja globina 310 m, povprečna globina 200 m).