Karatau Mountains

Mountains in southern Kazakhstan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Karatau Mountainsmap

The Karatau or Qaratau (Kazakh: Қаратау жотасы, Qaratau jotasy) is a mountain range located in southern Kazakhstan. The mountains have deposits of phosphorite, lead, and zinc.[3]

Quick Facts Highest point, Peak ...
Karatau
Қаратау жотасы
Thumb
Highest point
PeakBessaz
Elevation2,176 m (7,139 ft)[1]
Coordinates42°53′20″N 69°58′50″E[2]
Dimensions
Length420 km (260 mi) NW/SE
Width90 km (56 mi) NE/SW
Geography
Thumb
Karatau
Karatau
Location in Kazakhstan
LocationKazakhstan
Parent rangeTian Shan
Geology
OrogenyAlpine orogeny
Rock type(s)Shale, sandstone, limestone[1]
Climbing
Easiest routeFrom Kentau
Close

Name

Qaratau (Қаратау) is Kazakh for the "Black Mountain" or "Mountain Range". The English name Karatau derives from accounts of Russian exploration of the area.

Geography

The range extends for about 420 kilometres (260 mi) in a roughly NW/SE direction just north of the Syr Darya. The Muyunkum Desert lies to the north of the range. The Karatau is the westernmost prolongation of the Tian Shan. The summits of the mountains are smooth and the slopes are cut by snow-fed rivers.[3] The Shabakty, Kyrshabakty, Ushbas, Bugun and Asa, are among the rivers having their sources in the range.[4]

World Heritage Status

There are numerous ancient archaeological sites in the range that display the stages of cultural evolution from the early Paleolithic Age (1 million BP) to the Neolithic Age (6500 BP).[5] This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on September 24, 1998 in the Cultural category.[5]

Nature Reserve

The Karatau Nature Reserve is a protected area in the range established in 2004.[6]

References

Wikiwand in your browser!

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.

Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.