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Ustyurt

(Encyclopedia)Ustyurt o͝ostˌyo͞ortˈ [key], desert plateau, c.62,000 sq mi (160,600 sq km), Central Asia, between the Caspian and Aral seas. It rises to between c.490 and 980 ft (150–300 m). It occupies the so...

Shymkent

(Encyclopedia)Shymkent chĭmkyĕntˈ [key], city (1993 est. pop. 404,000), S Kazakhstan, on the Turkistan-Siberia RR. It has large zinc and lead smelters and machine, chemical, and food-processing industries. Found...

Dzungaria

(Encyclopedia)Dzungaria jo͝ongˈgärˈ [key], physical region (c.300,000 sq mi/777,000 sq km) of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, NW China. It is a largely steppe and semidesert basin surrounded by high mountains...

Tacheng

(Encyclopedia)Tacheng cho͞ogo͞ochäkˈ [key], town (1994 est. pop. 56,400), N Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, in the Dzungarian basin, bordering on Kazakhstan. Long a major center for trade with Central ...

Aqtöbe

(Encyclopedia)Aqtöbe or Aktöbe əktyo͞oˈbĭnsk [key], city, NW Kazakhstan, on the Ilek River and the Kazalinsk RR. Aqtöbe has an important ferroalloy plant and chromium comp...

Leninogor

(Encyclopedia)Leninogor lyĕˌnyĭnəgôrskˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 68,706), NE Kazakhstan, in the Altai Mts. It is a mining center in an area that is the chief source of Kazakh zinc and lead. Silver, copper, and ...

Kyzyl Kum

(Encyclopedia)Kyzyl Kum or Kizil Kum both: kəzŭlˈ ko͞om [key] [Turk.,=red sand], desert, c.115,000 sq mi (297,900 sq km), in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. This vast region SE of the Aral Sea between the Amu Darya ...

Öskemen

(Encyclopedia)Öskemen o͝ostˌ-kəmyĭnəgôrskˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 324,478), NE Kazakhstan, on the Irtysh River and in the foothills of the W Altai Mts. It is a river port and an industrial center with zinc,...

Turkistan-Siberia Railroad

(Encyclopedia)Turkistan-Siberia Railroad, abbreviated as Turk-Sib, important railroad in Central Asia, providing the shortest link between Siberia and Central Asia. Completed in 1931, it runs from the Trans-Siberia...

German Volga Republic

(Encyclopedia)German Volga Republic, former autonomous republic of the USSR, c.18,000 sq mi (46,600 sq km), along the lower Volga of SW Russia. Its largely German population was descended from the German colonists ...