Betpak-Dala is a region in Kazakhstan. Betpak-Dala (from Turkic batpak, “swampy,” or Persian bedbaht, “unlucky” and Turkic dala, “plain”), also known as the Northern Hungry Steppe, a desert in the former Kazakh SSR, located between the lower reaches of the Sarysu River, the Chu River, and Lake Balkhash.