Kokshetau Mountains () or Kokshetau Massif is a mountain massif in the

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 ...

.''Nature of Kazakhstan: Encyclopedia'' / General editor. B. O. Jacob. - Almaty: "Kazakh Encyclopedia" LLP, 2011. T.Z. - 304 pages. ISBN 9965-893-64-0 (T.Z.), ISBN 9965-893-19-5

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 ...

city and

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 ...

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...

are located in the massif. The mountains are part of 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 ...

, a

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 ...

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 ...

Geography

The Kokshetau Mountains are part of the

Kokshetau Hills The Kokshetau Hills (; ) is a system of mountains of moderate altitude in the North Kazakhstan Region and Akmola Region, Kazakhstan.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). It is a small, compact mountainous cluster of moderate altitude located in the northern sector of the highlands. Small lakes lie in the central, western and northwestern area of the range, including

, Shchuchye,

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 ...

and

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 ...

. The highest point of the massif is

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 ...

, towering at 947 meters (3,107 ft) and located in the northern part near Kishi Shabakty Lake. River

Kylshakty The Kylshakty (, ''Qylşaqty'') is a river in Northern Kazakhstan that flows through the Akmola Region in Central Kazakhstan. It is long and has a drainage basin spanning . The river is 246 kilometers away from Kazakhstan's capital, Astana. G ...

has its sources in the Kokshetau Massif. The slopes are often cut by deep ravines. Owing to

denudation Denudation is the geological process in which moving water, ice, wind, and waves erode the Earth's surface, leading to a reduction in elevation and in relief of landforms and landscapes. Although the terms erosion and denudation are used interchang ...

and weathering of the mountains there are bizarre-shaped rocky outcrops. Some of these

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 display horizontal layers of eroded granite stone and look like ruined towers.

Flora

The mountain slopes have forests of

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

, poplar, except for the rocky tops. There are also some areas of shrub growth. In the valleys at the foot of the mountains there are meadows of

wheatgrass Wheatgrass is the freshly sprouted Cotyledon, first leaves of the Wheat, common wheat plant (''Triticum aestivum''), used as a food, drink, or dietary supplement. Wheatgrass is served Freeze-drying, freeze dried or fresh, and so it differs from ...

couch grass Couch grass, as a vernacular common name, may refer to: * ''Cynodon dactylon'', known as couch grass in Australia and South Africa, often planted as a turf grass * '' Elymus repens'', known as couch grass in the United Kingdom and North America, o ...

and bromes, among other grass types.

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 is present in the plains surrounding the massif.

References

External links

*{{commonscat inline
Burabay National Natural ParkTraveling in Burabay National Park
Kazakh Uplands Geography of Akmola Region

Geography

Flora

See also

References

External links