[3] On 16 October 1976, the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 23 unintentionally splashed down into the northern part of the lake, which was frozen, crashing through the ice.

[4] Tengiz is a shallow lake, subject to seasonal variations in water level.

[5] The lake is located in an intermontane basin of the Kazakh Uplands and is the largest of the area.

It is a part of a Ramsar wetland site of international importance, the Tengiz-Korgalzhyn Lake System, where 318 species of birds have been recorded, 22 of which are endangered.

[8] Neighboring lake Korgalzhyn is the most northerly nesting site for the Greater flamingo; in the years 2006-2011 around 45,000 members of that species were noted.