Samarqand Region (Samarkand Region) ( uz, Самарқанд вилояти, Samarqand viloyati, russian: Самаркандская область) is the most populous region of Uzbekistan. It is located in the center of the country in the basin of

Zarafshan River The Zeravshan; uz, Zeravshon, Зеравшон, زېرەۋشان; from Persian fa, , Zarâfšân – meaning "the spreader of gold" is a river in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, Central Asia. Its name, "spreader of gold" in Persian, refers to th ...

. It borders with

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

Navoiy Region Navoiy Region ( uz, Навоий вилояти, Navoiy viloyati, russian: Навоийская область) is one of the regions of Uzbekistan. It is located in the central north/northwest of the country. It covers an area of (a large part ...

Jizzakh Region Jizzakh Region ( uz, Jizzax viloyati, Жиззах вилояти, جٮززﻩخ ۋٮلايەتى, russian: Джизакская область, Dzhizakskaya Oblast') is one of the regions of Uzbekistan. It is located in the center/east of the co ...

and

Qashqadaryo Region Qashqadaryo Region ( uz, Qashqadaryo viloyati, Қашқадарё вилояти, قەشقەدەريا ۋىلايەتى; old spelling ''Kashkadarya Region'', russian: Кашкадарьинская область) is one of the regions of Uzbekist ...

. It covers an area of 16,773 km². The population is estimated to be around 4,031,324, with some 63% living in rural areas (2022). Samarqand Region was established on January 15, 1938,Information about the Samarkand Region
,
www.samarqand.uz
', accessed on 2007-07-21. and is divided into 14

administrative districts Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

and two district-level cities. The capital is

Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...

(pop. est. 551,700, 2021). Other major towns include Bulungʻur, Juma,

Ishtixon Ishtixon ( uz, Ishtixon/Иштихон, russian: Иштыхан, Ishtykhan) is a city in Samarqand Region, Uzbekistan. It is the capital of Ishtixon District Ishtixon District is a district of Samarqand Region in Uzbekistan. The capital is at the ...

Kattakurgan , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_seal = , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Uzbekistan , pushpin_label_po ...

, Urgut, and Oqtosh. The climate is a typically arid

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing som ...

. Samarkand is the second-largest center for economy, science, and culture in Uzbekistan, after

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

. The Institute of Archeology at the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan is based at Samarqand. The region's

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

architectural monuments make Samarkand the largest center for international tourism in the country. Samarqand Region also has significant

natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. ...

, including construction materials such as

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

carbonate A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid (H2CO3), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word ''carbonate'' may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate g ...

, and

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...

. The region's major agricultural activities are cotton and cereal growing, winemaking and

sericulture Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, '' Bombyx mori'' (the caterpillar of the domestic silkmoth) is the most widely used and intensively stud ...

. Metal processing (spare parts for automobiles and combines), food processing, textiles, and ceramics are the area's most active industries. The region has a well-developed transport infrastructure, with over 400 km of railways and 4100 km of surfaced roads. The telecommunication infrastructure is also well developed.

Administrative divisions

The Samarqand Region consists of 14

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

s (listed below) and two district-level cities:

(''Samarqand'') and

Kattakurgan , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_seal = , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Uzbekistan , pushpin_label_po ...

(''Kattaqoʻrgʻon''). There are 11 cities (

Kattakurgan , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_seal = , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Uzbekistan , pushpin_label_po ...

, Bulungʻur, Jomboy,

, Oqtosh, Payariq, Chelak, Juma, Nurobod, Urgut) and 88

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlementrussian: посёлок городско́го ти́па, translit=posyolok gorodskogo tipa, abbreviated: russian: п.г.т., translit=p.g.t.; ua, селище міського типу, translit=selyshche mis'koho typu, ab ...

s in the Samarqand Region.

References

{{Authority control Regions of Uzbekistan

Administrative divisions

See also

References