It rises in the southern Ural Mountains about 60 kilometres (37 mi) west-southwest of Magnitogorsk and flows south through a valley with some canyon development. At Kuvandyk it swings west, leaves the mountains and flows west parallel to the Ural River with many meanders for about 150 kilometres (93 mi) (straight-line distance) before turning south to meet the Ural. Major tributaries are the Salymysh River and the Bolshoy Ik River, both from the north.[1]