Carbonated Water of Kara-Kiche
The carbonated water of Kara-Kiche is the most sulfate-rich among the carbonated mineral waters of the republic and closely resembles the composition of the most popular sulfate narzan in the country, Kislovodsk narzan, in terms of macrocomponent ratios.
The Kara-Kiche springs are located 40 km southeast of the district center Chayek on the southern slope of the Sonkul-Tau range, in the middle part of the right tributary of the upper reaches of the Kara-Kiche River — the Kataram stream; the absolute elevation of the area here is close to 3050 m.
A notable feature of the location of the carbonated water springs in Kataram is the elevation of their outlet above the bottom of the Kara-Kiche River valley by almost 300 m, which is quite atypical for discharge areas of carbonated mineral waters. Interestingly, the second area of ancient discharge of carbonated mineral waters in this region, located on the right bank of the upper reaches of the Kara-Kiche River, is also situated quite high above the valley bottom.
The most concentrated outlet of the Kara-Kiche mineral water contains up to 1.8 g/l of dissolved salts and up to 1.85 g/l of free carbon dioxide, but this spring is characterized by the greatest variability in composition: in spring and summer, its flow rate increases, the content of carbon dioxide in the water rises, and the overall mineralization increases; in winter and early spring, the spring has almost no flow, and the content of salts and free carbon dioxide in its water is minimal, with the CO2 content varying almost twofold compared to the maximum.
The resources of conditioned carbonated water in the area under consideration are small — fractions of l/s, but the relatively easy accessibility of the sources (they can be directly approached by car), their valuable balneological type, and the absence of any serious "competitors" in this area have placed the Kara-Kiche springs among those of practical interest, especially in light of the potential development of the nearby brown coal deposit.
