The Ilek (, ; rus, Илек, p=ɪˈlʲek) is a river in the

Aktobe Region Aktobe Region (; ) is a region of Kazakhstan. The name ''Aktobe'' comes from Kazakh ''aq'' 'white' and ''töbe'' 'hill' or 'top (of something)'; supposedly, Aktobe's initial settlers were able to see white mountains far to the north. The Aktobe ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

, and

Orenburg Oblast Orenburg Oblast (also Orenburzhye) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), mainly located in Eastern Europe. Its administrative center is the city of Orenburg. From 1938 to 1957, it bore the name Chkalov Oblast in honor of Valery Chkal ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. 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 (burial mound) 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 mu ...

(Indo-European) cultures.

Course

The Ilek is a left tributary of the Ural. It is a

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...

river, flowing at the southern end of the

Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains ( ),; , ; , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range in Eurasia that runs north–south mostly through Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the river Ural (river), Ural and northwestern Kazakhstan.

. It rises just south of

Orsk Orsk () 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–Russia border. ...

, flows south a short distance and then flows westward south of and parallel to the river Ural, with many meanders and

oxbow lakes An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or stream pool, pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is meander cutoff, cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. The word "oxbow" can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether ...

, and joins the Ural about west of

Orenburg Orenburg (, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies in Eastern Europe, along the banks of the Ural River, being approximately southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is close to the ...

. Two main cities lie on the banks of the Ilek River: Sol-Iletsk and

Aqtöbe Aktobe (, ; ) is a major city located on the Ilek River in western Kazakhstan. It serves as the administrative center of the Aktobe Region and is an important cultural, economic, and industrial hub in the region. As of 2023, the city has a popu ...

(alternate spelling: Aktöbe, Aktyubinsk). The Ilek remains the most polluted water body in the Ural-Caspian basin. The content of

boron Boron is a chemical element; it has symbol B and atomic number 5. In its crystalline form it is a brittle, dark, lustrous metalloid; in its amorphous form it is a brown powder. As the lightest element of the boron group it has three ...

and

chromium Chromium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6 element, group 6. It is a steely-grey, Luster (mineralogy), lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. 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.

Fauna

There are catfish, carp, perch, pike, etc. in the Ilek. Its water is supplied for use by industrial enterprises, and irrigation of agricultural lands.

References

External links

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

Course

Fauna

See also

References

External links