Atyrau Region ( kk, Атырау облысы / ; russian: Атырауская область) formerly known as Guryev Region (russian: Гурьевская область) until 1991, is one of the

regions of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan is divided into 17 regions ( kk, облыстар/''oblystar''; singular: облыс/''oblys''; russian: области/''oblasti''; singular: область/''oblast). The regions are further subdivided into districts ( kk, ауда� ...

, in the west of the country around the northeast of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

. Its capital is the city of

Atyrau Atyrau ( kk, Атырау, ', ; russian: Атырау, ), known until 1991 as Guryev (russian: Гурьев, ), is a city in Kazakhstan and the capital of Atyrau Region. Atyrau is a transcontinental city, at the mouth of the Ural River on the Cas ...

, with a population of 355,117; the region itself has a population of 659,074, of which

Kazakhs The Kazakhs (also spelled Qazaqs; Kazakh: , , , , , ; the English name is transliterated from Russian; russian: казахи) are a Turkic-speaking ethnic group native to northern parts of Central Asia, chiefly Kazakhstan, but also parts o ...

make up more than 90%.

History

The

Turan Turan ( ae, Tūiriiānəm, pal, Tūrān; fa, توران, Turân, , "The Land of Tur") is a historical region in Central Asia. The term is of Iranian origin and may refer to a particular prehistoric human settlement, a historic geographical re ...

lowlands of Atyrau Region were the central homeland for the Malkar "Hun" dynasties of late antiquity.

Geography

With an area of 118,600 square kilometers, it is the second-smallest region in Kazakhstan (

Turkistan Region Turkistan Region (), formerly South Kazakhstan Region ( kk, Оңтүстік Қазақстан облысы, translit= Oñtüstık Qazaqstan oblysy) (russian: Южно-Казахстанская область, ') from 1992–2018 and Chimkent ...

is the smallest). It borders

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

(

Astrakhan Oblast Astrakhan Oblast (russian: Астраха́нская о́бласть, ''Astrakhanskaya oblast'', , ''Astrakhan oblysy'') is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast) located in southern Russia. Its administrative center ...

) to the west, as well as the fellow Kazakh regions

Aktobe Aktobe ( kz, Ақтөбе, Aqtöbe; russian: Актобе, Aktobe) is a city on the Ilek River in Kazakhstan. It is the administrative center of Aktobe Region. In 2020, it had a population of 500,757 people. Aktobe is located in the west of K ...

to the east, Mangystau to the south, and the

West Kazakhstan Region West Kazakhstan Region ( kk, Батыс Қазақстан облысы, translit=Batys Qazaqstan oblysy; russian: Западно-Казахстанская область, translit=Zapadno-Kazakhstanskaya oblast) is a region of Kazakhstan. The re ...

to the north. The

Ural River The Ural (russian: Урал, ), known before 1775 as Yaik (russian: Яик, ba, Яйыҡ, translit=Yayıq, ; kk, Жайық, translit=Jaiyq, ), is a river flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan in the continental border between Europe and Asia ...

is the border between

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and flows from Russia to the

through the region, meaning western Atyrau Region lies in Europe. A large part of the region is situated in the

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

-rich

Caspian Depression The Caspian Depression ( kk, Каспий маңы ойпаты, ''Kaspıı mańy oıpaty''; rus, Прикаспи́йская ни́зменность, p=prʲɪkɐˈspʲijskəjə ˈnʲizmʲɪnnəsʲtʲ, Caspian Lowland) or Pricaspian/Peri-Casp ...

. Many oil wells have been drilled in the

Tengiz Field Tengiz field ( kk, Теңіз мұнай кен орны, ''Teñız mūnai ken orny''; Tengiz is Turkic for "sea") is an oil field located in northwestern Kazakhstan's low-lying wetlands along the northeast shores of the Caspian Sea. It covers ...

and

Kashagan Field Kashagan Field ( kk, Қашаған кен орны, ''Qashaǵan ken orny'') is an offshore oil field in Kazakhstan's zone of the Caspian Sea. The field, discovered in 2000, is located in the northern part of the Caspian Sea close to Atyrau and ...

areas. An

oil pipeline Pipeline transport is the long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas through a system of pipes—a pipeline—typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countr ...

runs from Atyrau to

Samara, Russia Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara rivers, with a population of ...

, where it joins the Russian pipeline system. A separate oil pipeline runs from the

Tengiz field Tengiz field ( kk, Теңіз мұнай кен орны, ''Teñız mūnai ken orny''; Tengiz is Turkic for "sea") is an oil field located in northwestern Kazakhstan's low-lying wetlands along the northeast shores of the Caspian Sea. It covers ...

to the Russian Black Sea port of

Novorossiisk Novorossiysk ( rus, Новоросси́йск, p=nəvərɐˈsʲijsk; ady, ЦIэмэз, translit=Chəməz, p=t͡sʼɜmɜz) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities hono ...

. Atyrau is traversed by the northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude.

Demographics

As of 2021, the Atyrau Region has a population of 659,074. Ethnic groups (2021): * Kazakh: 92.86% *

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: 5.01% *

Koreans Koreans ( South Korean: , , North Korean: , ; see names of Korea) are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula. Koreans mainly live in the two Korean nation states: North Korea and South Korea (collectively and simply refe ...

: 0.48% *

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

: 0.35% *Others: 1.30%

Administrative divisions

The region is divided into seven districts and the city of

. The districts are: #

Inder District Inder District ( kk, Индер ауданы, ) is a district of Atyrau Region in Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the district is the urban-type settlement of Inderbor. Population: Geography Inder Inder may refer to: ;People * Ind ...

, with the administrative center in the urban-type settlement of Inderbor; # Isatay District, the selo (village) of Akkystau; #

Kurmangazy District Kurmangazy District ( kk, Құрманғазы ауданы, , ) is a Districts of Kazakhstan, district of Atyrau Region in Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the district is the Village#Central and Eastern Europe, selo of Kurmangazy, Atyrau ...

, the selo of Ganyushkino; # Kyzylkoga District, the selo of Miyaly; #

Makat District Makat District ( kk, Мақат ауданы, ) is a Districts of Kazakhstan, district of Atyrau Region in Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the district is the urban-type settlement of Makat. Population: References

Districts ...

, the urban-type settlement of

Makat Makat, also known as Maqat ( kz, Мақат, ''Maqat'', ''ماقات''; russian: Макат, ''Makat'') is a town in Atyrau Region, west Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country locate ...

; # Makhambet District, the selo of Makhambet; #

Zhylyoi District Zhylyoi District ( kk, Жылыой ауданы, ) is a district located in the south-eastern region of Atyrau Region in Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the district is the town of Kulsary Kulsary ( kk, Құлсары, ''Qūlsary'') is ...

, the town of

Kulsary Kulsary ( kk, Құлсары, ''Qūlsary'') is a town and the center of the Zhylyoi District in the Atyrau Region of western Kazakhstan. Population: The city is located 11 kilometers from the Emba River, and 230 kilometers from the city of At ...

. ^* Two localities in Atyrau Region have town status. These are Atyrau and

. Isatay and Kurmangazy districts are in Europe, Makat, Kyzylkoga and Zhylyoi in Asia, while Inder and Makhambet straddle the Ural River which marks the boundary.

References

* ''National Geographic Atlas of the World'', Eighth Edition.

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Regions of Kazakhstan