§ 26. The northern kazakhstan

The North Kazakhstan, Kostanai, Akmola, Pavlodar ­ areas.

Territory - 565,0 thousand km².

The population - 3028,3 thousand persons.

Economic-geographical position. An environment and natural resources. The Northern Kazakhstan is located in basins of the rivers Ishim, Tobyl and Obagan, the east part - around an average current of the river Ertis. On the territory total area of the Northern Kazakhstan ­ takes the third place after the Western and Southern Kazakhstan­.

The economic region structure includes the southern part of the Western-Siberian lowland and northern part of the Kazakh shallow hill. Chernozems and chestnut soils, suitable for ploughing, pasturable meadows, haying grounds in a combination to rich natural resources are the basis for diversified agriculture development­.

In the economic region northwest there are deposits of Kostanai iron ore and Zhitikara asbestos, Turgai pool of brown coal, in the south - deposits ­of Arkalyk bauxites; in the Pavlodar area - Ekibastuz coal, Maikobe brown coal; in Bozshakol - copper ores; in Koriakov, Tavolzhan, Kalkaman - food salt. In some areas of the Northern Kazakhstan are available gold ore deposits: in Zhitikara (Kostanai area), Zholymbet, Bestobe, Akbeit (Akmola area) and Majkain (the Pavlodar ­ area). The Vasilkov deposit­, gold containing sites in Stepnyak are also known.

The economic region territory is rich with limestone, quartz ­ sand, refractory clay and other building materials.

Characters of the soil-vegetative cover, the fertile soil, favorable climate give the chance to develop agriculture in wide scales. ­ Irrigated agriculture practises southern and southwest droughty areas ­ are Turgai steppe in the south of Kostanai area, area of Tengiz-Korgalzhyn lakes, the southern part of the left bank of Ertis. In many areas of the Northern ­ Kazakhstan (forest-steppe and steppe zones) there are conditions for conducting not irrigated agriculture: 350-400 mm of deposits a year. The area of farmlands makes 50 million in hectare, of them 24 million in hectare - arable, 26 million in hectare - pastures, meadows and the haying earths. The majority of pasturable and haying grounds are necessary on Kostanai, Pavlodar and Akmola areas­. 78 % of the sowing earths occupy grain crops among which spring wheat prevails.

The hilly and flat relief of the terrestrial surface of Northern ­ Kazakhstan has created conditions for abundance of lakes - about 13 thousand largest of them - Kushmurun and Sarykopa in Kostanai­, Tengiz and Korgalzhyn in Akmola, Selety, Burabai in the former Kokshetau area.

Inflows of Ertis, Ishim and Tobol, the small rivers Turgai, Selety, Shiderty, Shagala because of an unstable current are inconvenient for navigation ­ and building of hydroelectric power stations and are used basically for an irrigation of meadows and pastures. For the economic purposes from the river Ishim Ishimsk, Bulaevsk, Presnovsk underground waterpipes are taken away; for the purpose of continuous maintenance with their water Sergeev and Vjacheslav water basins are built.

On region territory pass Great Siberian, Middle-Siberian, South Siberian and Transkazakhstan trunk-railways ­ which connect Northern Kazakhstan with Ural Mountains, Kuzbas and areas of the Central Kazakhstan, and also provide an exit in the European and Asian parts of Russia and to Southern Kazakhstan. On the river Ertis is carried out communication of economic region ­ with Ore Altai, the Western-Siberian oil and gas ­ area of Russia.

The population. On an aggregate number and average population density ­the Northern Kazakhstan concedes to only Southern Kazakhstan.

The area territory is occupied in regular intervals that corresponds to character ­ of settling of agricultural forest-steppe and steppe zones. Vicinities the Kokshetau, areas along the Great Siberian and Transkazakhstan railways, and also valleys of the rivers Ertis, Ishim, Tobol are densely occupied the North Kazakhstan area. In the south, the southeast, the area southwest where not irrigated ­ agriculture, population of economic region rare or non-uniform is poorly developed­.

Semidesertic areas of Northern Kazakhstan (the south Kostanai area, a vicinity of Turgai, the southwest of the Pavlodar, Akmola ­ areas) are occupied seldom.

The population of Northern Kazakhstan is multinationally. ­ Kazakhs, Russian, Ukrainians, Tatars, Germans, Jews, Chuvashs, Poles and other people which have occupied this area in development of virgin lands and mineral deposits, buildings of the railways live here ­. The greatest part of the population – Slavic language people, Kazakhs make 25 % with prevalence of their number in southern cattle-breeding areas­. Last years in connection with capital transfer to Astana, planned moving of representatives of the Kazakh diaspora from foreign countries ­ number of Kazakhs has considerably increased.

The share of city dwellers makes 50 % that specifies in parity character of development of agriculture and the industry­.