The Kokshetau Hills (; ) is a system of mountains of moderate altitude in the

North Kazakhstan Region North Kazakhstan Region (; ) is a region of Kazakhstan, with a population of 522,171. Its capital is Petropavl, with a population of 221,907 people. It is the only region of Kazakhstan in which ethnic Kazakhs don't make up a majority. History ...

and

Akmola Region Akmola Region (, ; ) is a centrally located regions of Kazakhstan, region of Kazakhstan. It was known as Tselinograd Oblast during Soviet Union, Soviet rule. Its capital is Kökşetau. The national capital, Astana, is enclosed by the region, but ...

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 ...

.Кокчетавская возвышенность
''

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; , ''BSE'') is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Great Russian Enc ...

'' in 30 vols. — Ch. ed.

A.M. Prokhorov Alexander Mikhailovich Prokhorov (born Alexander Michael Prochoroff, ; 11 July 1916 – 8 January 2002) was an Australian-born Russian physicist and researcher on lasers and masers, in the former Soviet Union. He shared the Nobel Prize in Ph ...

. - 3rd ed. - M. Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969–1978. (in Russian) The cities of

Kokshetau Kokshetau (; , ; rus, Кокшета́у, p=kəkʂɛ'taʊ; ), formerly known as Kokchetav (; ) between 1868 and 1993, is a lakeside city in northern Kazakhstan and the capital of Akmola Region. It stretches along the southern shore of Lak ...

Shchuchinsk Shchuchinsk (, ''Şuchinsk''; , ) is a city in northern-central Kazakhstan, located 75 kilometres south-east of Kokshetau on Lake Shchuchye. It is the seat of Burabay District (form. Shchuchinsk District) in Akmola Region and is the centre of a l ...

and

Makinsk Makinsk (, ''Makinsk''; ) is a town in northern-central Kazakhstan. It is the administrative center of Bulandy District in Aqmola Region. Population: Geography Makinsk is located in the Kokshetau Hills, in the northern part of the Kazakh Upla ...

are located in the hill zone, as well as the

Burabay Burabay (), formerly ''Borovoye'', is a settlement in Burabay District, Akmola Region, Kazakhstan. It is the administrative center of the Burabay rural district (KATO code - 117035100). Population: Burabay is a spa town. The surrounding area is ...

resort town. The

Burabay National Park The Burabay State National Nature Park (; ) is a national park located in Burabay District, Akmola Region, Aqmola Region, Kazakhstan, which covers a vast area of 129,935 hectares, with a significant portion of the land covered by forests, lakes, a ...

and the

Kokshetau National Park Kokshetau National Park () features the unique landscape, archaeological sites, and recreational opportunities of the Kazakh Uplands of northern Kazakhstan. Located in the transition zone between the Siberian taiga (to the north) and the southe ...

are the main

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

Geography

The Kokshetau Hills are a northern subsystem of the

Kazakh Uplands The Kazakh Uplands or the Kazakh Hummocks, known in Kazakh as the ( , ; ), is a large peneplain formation extending throughout the central and eastern regions of Kazakhstan.

(Saryarka), limited to the north by the

West Siberian Plain The West Siberian Plain () is a large plain that occupies the western portion of Siberia, between the Ural Mountains in the west and the Yenisei, Yenisei River in the east, and the Altai Mountains on the southeast. Much of the plain is poorly d ...

. They are scattered across a vast area, with wide flat spaces in between of river valleys or lake basins. They stretch for about between the

Turgay Basin The Turgay Depression, also known as Turgay Basin, Turgay Trough, and Turgay Hollow (; ), is a structural basin in Kazakhstan.Sileti The Sileti (; ) is a river in Kazakhstan. It is long and has a catchment area of . The Sileti river system is an endorheic watershed in the Akmola, Pavlodar and North Kazakhstan regions of Kazakhstan. Course The sources of the Sileti are ...

valley in the east, with a width of from north to south. The individual hills and hill clusters rise abruptly from the plains of the

intermontane basin Intermontane is a physiographic adjective formed from the prefix " inter-" (''signifying among, between, amid, during, within, mutual, reciprocal'') and the adjective "montane" (inhabiting, or growing in mountainous regions, especially cool, mo ...

s. They are generally rocky or have rocky outcrops at the top and there are bizarre

rock formation A rock formation is an isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock (geology), rock outcrop. Rock formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock. The term ''rock Geological formation, formation ...

s as well.

Google Earth Google Earth is a web mapping, web and computer program created by Google that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satelli ...

The elevations are moderate, the highest point is high

Mount Kokshe Mount Kokshe, also known as Kokshetau or Kokshe-Tau (; , , Gora Sinyukha, lit. 'blueish mountain') is a mountain in the Kokshetau Massif, Akmola Region, northern Kazakhstan. It is the highest mountain in Akmola Region and the second highest mo ...

, also known as Sinyukha, rising in the

Kokshetau Massif Kokshetau Mountains () or Kokshetau Massif is a mountain massif in the Akmola Region, Kazakhstan.''Nature of Kazakhstan: Encyclopedia'' / General editor. B. O. Jacob. - Almaty: "Kazakh Encyclopedia" LLP, 2011. T.Z. - 304 pages. ISBN 9965-893-64-0 ...

, located in the northeastern part of the Kokshetau Hills. The Zhaksy-Zhalgyztau (highest point ), Imantau (highest point ) and Ayrtau (highest point ), are the main massifs in the western part, among other smaller and lower ones. The Zhilandi Massif (highest point ) and the Zerendin Mountains (highest point ), are located in the central part. high

Bukpa Hill Bukpa (; ) is a hill that rises in the north-western area of Kokshetau, the capital of Akmola Region in the northern part of Kazakhstan. It is open to the public and provides excellent panoramic views of the city and beyond, including Mount Koks ...

rises above Kokshetau town and to the southeast rise the Makina Hills (highest point ).

Hydrography

Numerous rivers originate in the Kokshetau Hills flowing in different directions, such as the Kylshakty,

Shagalaly The Shagalaly (, ''Şağalaly''), formerly known as Chaglinka, is a river of northern Kazakhstan. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . The river flows through the territory of Akmola and North Kazakhstan regions. The name "Shagalaly" in t ...

, Iman-Burluk, Akan-Burluk, Zhilandi, Zhabai and

Boksyk The Boksyk () or Baksuk () is a river in Bulandy District, Bulandy and Astrakhan District, Astrakhan districts, Akmola Region, Kazakhstan. It has a length of and a basin size of . There are several dams on the river. The water is used for watering ...

. Many are part of the

Ishim Ishim may refer to: *Ishim (river), a river in Kazakhstan and Russia *Ishim, Tyumen Oblast, a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia *Ishim (angel), a rank of angels in the Jewish angelic hierarchy See also

*Ishimsky (disambiguation) *Ishimbay {{Disam ...

basin. Also hundreds of lakes are located in the numerous tectonic basins of the hill area. The most well-known lakes are those part of the

Kokshetau Lakes Kokshetau Lakes () is a group of water bodies in the North Kazakhstan and Akmola regions, Kazakhstan. The lakes are in a picturesque mountain setting with rocky outcrops and pine forest covered hill slopes. They are one of the main tourist des ...

, a group that includes lakes

Ulken Shabakty Lake Ulken Shabakty (, ''Ülken Şabaqty''; ) is a lake in the Burabay District, Akmola Region, Kazakhstan. Fishery on the lake is common. The lake lies by Burabay spa town, in the Shchuchinsk-Borovoye resort zone. It is part of the Burabay Nat ...

Kishi Shabakty Kishi Shabakty (; , ''Maloye Chebachye'' —"Small Chebachye") is a lake in Burabay District, Akmola Region, Kazakhstan. The lake is part of the Burabay National Park, a protected area.''Nature of Kazakhstan Encyclopedia'' Vol. III / General edi ...

, Kopa,

Zerendi Zerendi (, ''Zerendı'') is a small town in northern-central Kazakhstan, located 45 kilometres from Kokshetau. It is the seat of Zerendi District in Aqmola Region Akmola Region (, ; ) is a centrally located region of Kazakhstan. It was known a ...

, Shalkar and Imantau.

Flora

The lower slopes of some of the hills are covered with sparse pine forest.

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 ...

vegetation, including grasses, Artemisia and Ephedra, grows on bare hillsides and in rock crevices.

Shrubs A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

are found on

scree Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits. The term ''scree'' is ap ...

slopes.''Kazakhstan National encyclopedia'' / Chief editor A. Nysanbayev - Almaty "Kazakh encyclopedia" General editor, 1998 ISBN 5-89800-123-9 , Volume V

References

External links

*{{commonscat inline
Kokshetau National Park - kazakhstan.travel
Kazakh Uplands Geography of North Kazakhstan Region