Karachi

Karachi, a mud therapy resort in the Barabinsky district of Siberian Krai, 233 km east of Omsk and 1 km from the 'Ozero Karachinskoye' station of the Omsk Railway. The resort is located on a narrow isthmus between the bitter-salt Lake Karachi to the north and the fresh-water Lake Uzun-kul to the south. Lake K. is an elongated-oval body of water 3 km long and 1.5 km wide. The northern and southern shores of the lake are terraced, relatively steeply sloping to the lake and covered with birch forest. The eastern and western shores are gentle slopes, without vegetation. The depth of the lake is 0.7-1.5 m. The bottom of the lake is covered with a layer of therapeutic mud up to 1.5 m thick. The mud is soft, of a paste-like consistency, black in color, and belongs to the hydrogen sulfide-salt type. The insoluble parts of the mud are fine sand, clay, iron sulfide, etc., and in solution are salts and hydrogen sulfide. The brine of the lake belongs to the chloride-sulfate-sodium-magnesium type and is characterized (by Kurlov) by the following formula: M_lls ^-щ^ The climate of K. is continental with sharp fluctuations in temperature, pressure, and precipitation. The therapeutic season lasts from June 1 to September 1. The average annual temperature is 0.5°, June temperature 15.8°, July 18.8°, August 16.7°; the maximum temperature in these months reaches 28-30°, the minimum reaches 3-8°. At the resort, mud baths of steam heating, brine baths, and swimming in the lake are used. The mud department accommodates up to 350 patients per day, the brine department dispenses up to 450 baths. There is a swimming pool, solarium, polyclinic, X-ray department, and laboratory. The capacity of the resort is about 600 beds. During the season, there are two shifts of patients. Indications are the same as for mud therapy resorts in general. Karachi is one of the most studied resorts in Siberia.