Farther north the Altai highlands are continued in the Kuznetsk district, which has a slightly different geological aspect, but still belongs to the Altai system.
Obala jezera se dviga na več kot 1.800 m. Iz tega jezera teče reka Biya, ki se pridruži reki Katun pri Biysku, nato pa se vije skozi prerije v severozahodem Altaju.