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, 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, with a population of 355,117; the region itself has a population of 659,074, of which
Kazakhs 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 is the smallest). It borders
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
(
Astrakhan Oblast) to the west, as well as the fellow Kazakh regions
Aktobe 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 are ...
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 subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
and flows from Russia to 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 ...
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 and
Kashagan Field areas. An
oil pipeline runs from Atyrau to
Samara, Russia, where it joins the Russian pipeline system. A separate oil pipeline runs from the
Tengiz field to the Russian Black Sea port of
Novorossiisk.
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 re ...
: 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
Atyrau. 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, the selo of
Ganyushkino;
#
Kyzylkoga District, the selo of
Miyaly;
#
Makat District, the urban-type settlement of
Makat;
#
Makhambet District, the selo of
Makhambet;
#
Zhylyoi District, the town of
Kulsary.
* Two localities in Atyrau Region have town status. These are Atyrau and
Kulsary. 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