Abstract
The article examines the effectiveness of GIS-technologies in Kazakhstan for determining and clarifying hydrographic characteristics (e.g. catchment area, river length, location, lakes and reservoirs), the analysis of hydrological processes and phenomena, as well as the creation of a cartographic and attributive database of water bodies. Yesil River, the main waterway of the central and northern part of Kazakhstan, is one of the least hydro- logically studied catchments in the region. To address this research and information gap data was obtained from remote sensing and runoff depth based on the Kazhydromet network for the period 1945 to 2016. A topographic and river network map (1:1,000,000) of the Yesil River basin, including locations of gauging stations as well as depth and runoff coefficient maps were created using ArcGIS software. These maps provide a very useful tool for water resource management and economic policy decision making.