Kostanay region (Kaz. Qostanay oblısı) - an area in the north of Kazakhstan. The administrative center is the city of Kostanay.
Kostanay region is located in the northern part of Kazakhstan, in the Trans-Urals, mainly in the steppe zone.
Kostanay region is the land of several thousand salt lakes. They could turn into salt marshes for a long time, if not for the features of the local nature, thanks to which they would not completely dry out.
Most of the Kostanay region is occupied by the Turgai and Zauralsky plateaus with heights of 200-300 m. This area is everywhere dissected by ravines with steep slopes, interspersed with vast hollows and wide valleys. The largest are the Turgai hollow with the Ubagan River and a chain of fresh and salt lakes, as well as a valley in the upper reaches of the largest Tobol River here. It flows almost across the entire territory from south to north, starting from the spurs of the Southern Urals. In spring, it and its tributaries spill strongly: this period accounts for up to 95% of the total annual flow. But in the summer they become shallow or break up into separate reaches. To keep flood water and use it for irrigation, several dams and dams were built on the rivers, which completely regulate the flow.
In the north-west there are foothill plains and spurs of the Urals, and in the north-east there is the Predturgay plain lowering to the north with heights of 120-150 m. There are also a lot of small and small lakes: in total, more than 5 thousand southeast of them occupy the region Kazakh small hills.
The soils of the region are represented by chernozems and chestnut soils, which differ in their heavy mechanical composition, increased salinity, and salinization. In connection with the development of virgin lands, almost the entire area has been plowed. The total land area of the region is 19600 thousand hectares. The area of farmland is 18123.4 thousand ha, including 5659.3 thousand ha, or 31.2%, arable land, 12068.0 thousand ha (67%) - pastures. In the northern part of the region, chernozems dominate with reddish-forged-herbaceous vegetation, birch-aspen pegs and pine forests (Arakaragai, Amankaragai); in the central part there are chestnut soils with red grass and redgrass plants, the pine forest of Naurzymkaragai, on the basis of which a reserve of the same name is organized, in the southern half there are light chestnut soils and serozems with fescue-feather grass and wormwood vegetation.
As of January 1, 2016, the region includes 4 cities, 16 districts, 155 rural districts, 8 villages (5 rural and 3 urban), 81 independent villages and auls. More than one hundred nationalities and 10 nationalities live in the region.
The bowels of the Kostanay region are rich in minerals, especially ore deposits of Sokolovsky, Sarbaisk and Kacharsky, in which the iron content is 55-60%.
It has quite hot summers, often a strong wind blows, causing dry winds and dust storms in summer, and snowstorms and snowstorms in winter.
The nature of the north and south is noticeably different. In the south there are semi-deserts with wormwood and solyanky vegetation. In the north, steppes with chernozems predominate, birch and aspen pegs, pine forests are found. The unique relict Naurzumsky forest is located on the territory of the Naurzumsky reserve. The existence of its largest lakes - fresh Aksuat and fresh-salty Sarymoyin - is subject to many years of cyclicity: filling is replaced by drying, which prevents the salinization of lake basins. Dozens of species of birds nest on the lakes, elk, roe deer and wild boar live on the shores, and of the predators - wolf, fox, lynx.
This part of Northern Kazakhstan is part of the steppe and lakes region, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Area |
196 001 sq. km |
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Regional center |
Kostanay city, large cities - Rudny |
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Neighboring regions and countries: |
in the north - Kurgan (RF), in the north-east - North Kazakhstan, in the southeast - Akmola, in the south - Karaganda, in the south-west - Aktyubinsk, in the west - Orenburg and Chelyabinsk (RF). |
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Climatic conditions |
Moderate sharply continental, arid. Winter is cold, with little snow, with strong winds and blizzards; summers are hot and dry. Average January temperature: -18.5 ° С in the north and -17 ° С in the south. Average July temperature: in the north + 18.5 ° С, in the south + 21.5 ° С. Average annual rainfall: 300 mm in the north and 170 mm in the south. |
Key socio-economic indicators
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Население (as of September 1, 2019, thousand people) |
869 508 |
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Inflation (September 2019, to December 2018,%) |
4,5 |
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Unemployment rate (II quarter of 2019,%) |
4,7 |
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GRP |
926,0 |
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Average monthly salary (II quarter of 2019, tenge) |
146 502 |
Source: stat.gov.kz