| Location: |
Central Asia, northwest of China
|
| Geographic coordinates: |
48 00 N, 68 00 E
|
| Map references: |
Commonwealth of Independent States
|
| Area: |
total:
2,717,300 sq km
land:
2,669,800 sq km
water:
47,500 sq km
|
| Area - comparative: |
slightly less than four times the size of Texas
|
| Land boundaries: |
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); note - 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: |
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: |
arable land:
12%
permanent crops:
11%
permanent pastures:
57%
forests and woodland:
4%
other:
16% (1996 est.)
|
| Irrigated land: |
22,000 sq km (1996 est.)
|
| Natural hazards: |
earthquakes in the south, mudslides 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: |
party to:
Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified:
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
|
| Geography - note: |
landlocked; Russia leases approximately 6,000 sq km of territory enclosing the Baykonur Cosmodrome
|
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