page_title: Barsa-Kelmes
hierarchical_section_title: Barsa-Kelmes
context_page_description: Barsa-Kelmes is a former island, the largest in the Aral Sea. Its area was 133 km² in the 1980s, but as the sea became more shallow it steadily grew, until in the 1990s it ceased to be an island. Its highest altitude is 113 m.
  It encompasses the Barsa-Kelmes Nature Reserve. Because of the native salt deposits, visitors are recommended to close their eyes during dust storms and strong winds.
context_section_description: Barsa-Kelmes (Russian: Барсакельмес, Kazakh: Барсакелмес, Barsakelmes meaning "the place of no return") is a former island, the largest in the Aral Sea. Its area was 133 km² in the 1980s, but as the sea became more shallow it steadily grew, until in the 1990s it ceased to be an island. Its highest altitude is 113 m. 
  It encompasses the Barsa-Kelmes Nature Reserve. Because of the native salt deposits, visitors are recommended to close their eyes during dust storms and strong winds.
caption: Taras Shevchenko: Tent of the expedition on the island of Barsa-Kelmes, 1848
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