Geography of Kazakhstan
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Kz-map.png
Kz-map.png
Map of Kazakhstan
This article describes the geography of Kazakhstan.
- Location
- Central Asia, northwest of China
- Geographic coordinates
- Template:Coor dm
- Map references
- Commonwealth of Independent States
- Area
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- Total: 2,717,300 km²
- Land: 2,669,800 km²
- Water: 47,500 km²
- Area--comparative
- About two times the size of Alaska
- Land boundaries
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- Total: 12,012 km
- Border countries: China 1,533 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,051 km, Russia 6,846 km, Turkmenistan 379 km, Uzbekistan 2,203 km
- Coastline
- 0 km (landlocked). Kazakhstan borders the Aral Sea, now split into two bodies of water (1,070 km), and the Caspian Sea (1,894 km).
- Maritime claims
- None (landlocked)
- Climate
- Continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid
- Terrain
- Extends from the Volga to the Altai Mountains and from the plains in western Siberia to oases and desert in Central Asia
- Elevation extremes
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- Lowest point: Vpadina Kaundy -132 m
- Highest point: Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995 m
- Natural resources
- Major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium
- Land use
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- Arable land: 12%
- Permanent crops: 11%
- Permanent pastures: 57%
- Forests and woodland:4%
- Other: 16% (1996 est.)
- Irrigated land
- 22,000 km² (1996 est.)
- Natural hazards
- Earthquakes in the south, mud slides around Almaty
- Environment--current issues
- Radioactive or toxic chemical sites associated with its former defense industries and test ranges are found throughout the country and pose health risks for humans and animals; industrial pollution is severe in some cities; because the two main rivers which flowed into the Aral Sea have been diverted for irrigation, it is drying up and leaving behind a harmful layer of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then picked up by the wind and blown into noxious dust storms; pollution in the Caspian Sea; soil pollution from overuse of agricultural chemicals and salination from poor infrastructure and wasteful irrigation practices
- Environment--international agreements
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- Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
- Signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
- Geography - note
- Landlocked