The Ilek ( kk, Елек, ''Elek'', russian: Илек) is a river in the

Aktobe Region The Aktobe Region ( kk, Ақтөбе облысы, Aqtöbe oblysy; russian: Актюбинская область, translit=Aktyubinskaya oblast) is a region of Kazakhstan. The name ''Aktobe'' comes from Kazakh ''aq'' 'white' and ''töbe'' 'hill' ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

, and Orenburg Oblast,

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 ...

. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . The river basin is of archeological significance. There are burial sites of ancient

Kurgan A kurgan is a type of tumulus constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into much of Central As ...

(Indo-European) cultures.

Course

The Ilek is a left tributary of the

Ural Ural may refer to: *Ural (region), in Russia and Kazakhstan *Ural Mountains, in Russia and Kazakhstan *Ural (river), in Russia and Kazakhstan * Ual (tool), a mortar tool used by the Bodo people of India *Ural Federal District, in Russia *Ural econ ...

. It is a steppe river, flowing at the southern end of the

Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...

. It rises just south of

Orsk Orsk (russian: Орск) is the second largest city in Orenburg Oblast, Russia, located on the steppe about southeast of the southern tip of the Ural Mountains. The city straddles the Ural River. Population: It lies adjacent to the Kazakhstan– ...

, flows south a short distance and then flows westward south of and parallel to the river Ural, with many meanders and oxbow lakes, and joins the Ural about west of Orenburg. Two main cities lie on the banks of the Ilek River:

Sol-Iletsk Sol-Iletsk (russian: Соль-Иле́цк) is a town in Orenburg Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Ilek River ( Ural's tributary), south of Orenburg, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 22,000 (1975); 11,802 ( ...

and

Aqtöbe 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 ...

(alternate spelling: Aktöbe, Aktyubinsk). The Ilek remains the most polluted water body in the Ural-Caspian basin. The content of boron and chromium in the river is caused by the tailing ponds of former chemical plants via ground water. The pollution level varies from "polluted" to "very polluted"."Water resources of Kazakhstan in the new millennium," Water Resources Committee of RK, 2002 Tributaries of the Ilek include the Bolshaya Khobda and the

Kargaly Kargaly is a copper mining-metallurgical district in the southern Urals of Russia. Prehistoric sites in Kargaly form a large and unique complex, especially when compared to neighboring metal production centers or the more distant ancient centers ...

Fauna

There are catfish, carp, perch, pike, etc. in the Ilek. It is used for water supply of industrial enterprises, irrigation of agricultural lands.

References

External links

* Rivers of Kazakhstan Rivers of Orenburg Oblast International rivers of Asia Ural basin {{Russia-river-stub

Course

Fauna

See also

References

External links