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The Karatau or Qaratau ( kk, Қаратау жотасы, Qarataw jotasy) is a mountain range located in southern Kazakhstan. The name Karatau means ''Black Mountain'' in the
Kazakh language The Kazakh or simply Qazaq (Latin: or , Cyrillic: or , Arabic Script: or , , ) is a Turkic language of the Kipchak branch spoken in Central Asia by Kazakhs. It is closely related to Nogai, Kyrgyz and Karakalpak. It is the official languag ...
. The mountains have deposits of
phosphorite Phosphorite, phosphate rock or rock phosphate is a non-detrital sedimentary rock that contains high amounts of phosphate minerals. The phosphate content of phosphorite (or grade of phosphate rock) varies greatly, from 4% to 20% phosphorus pentox ...
, lead and zinc.


Geography

The range extends for about in a roughly NW/SE direction just north of the Syrdaria River. The
Muyunkum Desert The Muyunkum Desert ( kk, Мойынқұм, ''Moiynqūm''), is a desert in the Jambyl Region of southern Kazakhstan. Common plant types in the desert include the saksaul, milkvetch, mugwort and sedge. Geography It extends from the Chu River in ...
lies to the north of the range. The Karatau is the westernmost prolongation of the Tian Shan. The summits of the mountains are smooth and the slopes are cut by snow-fed rivers. The
Shabakty The Shabakty ( kk, Шабақты; russian: Шабакты) is a river in southern Kazakhstan. It has a length of and a drainage basin of .Google Earth The river flows across Sarysu District of the Zhambyl Region. There are two inhabited pl ...
, Ushbas,
Bugun The Buguns (formerly Khowa) are one of the earliest recognized schedule tribe of India, majority of them, inhabiting the Singchung Sub-Division of West Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh. Their total population is approximately 3000. The notab ...
and
Asa ASA as an abbreviation or initialism may refer to: Biology and medicine * Accessible surface area of a biomolecule, accessible to a solvent * Acetylsalicylic acid, aspirin * Advanced surface ablation, refractive eye surgery * Anterior spinal a ...
, are among the rivers having their sources in the range.


World Heritage Status

There are numerous ancient archaeological sites in the range that display the stages of cultural evolution from the early
Paleolithic Age The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος '' lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
(1 million BP) to the Neolithic Age (6500 BP).Paleolithic sites and geomorphology of Karatau mountain range - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
/ref> This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on September 24, 1998 in the Cultural category.


Nature Reserve

The Karatau Nature Reserve is a
protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
in the range established in 2004.Decree of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan ''"On the establishment of the state institution" Karatau State Nature Reserve "of the Committee for Forestry and Hunting of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan"''; 1 March 2004


References


External links

* {{Authority control Mountain ranges of Kazakhstan World Heritage Tentative List Mountain ranges of the Tian Shan