Kostanay Region is adjacent to the
Russian
federal subjects Orenburg Oblast,
Chelyabinsk Oblast,
Kurgan Oblast, and is near the
Ural Mountains. It also touches four other Kazakh regions:
Aktobe Region to the southwest,
Karaganda Region to the south,
Akmola Region to the southeast, and
North Kazakhstan Region to the northeast. The
Tobol (Tobyl) River, a tributary of the
Irtysh River, starts in and flows through the region on its way to Russia. Kostanay Region's area is 197,000 square kilometers, making it the sixth largest of the Kazakh regions.
Flora and fauna The flora and fauna of the Kostanay Region are suitable for the organization and development of zones for fishing and hunting, lake-commodity fish culture, and hunting facilities development. Ground-based fauna include 52 kinds of
mammals; and others include 267 permanently located or migratory
birds, 10 kinds of amphibians, and, in reservoirs, 24 kinds of
fish. The
Naurzum reserve (877 km2), 3 natural sanctuaries (1630 km2), and 12 state nature sanctuaries (0.47 km2) with rich vegetative cover are the pride of the region.
Natural resources The region is characterized of flat relief with inflows of the Ayat, Ubagan, Ui, and
Turgay,
Saryozen, and
Karatorgai rivers. The Northern part occupies the southeast suburb of the West-Siberian lowland, the
Turgay Plateau trails in from the south, the Zaural plateau comes from the west, and the
Kazakh Uplands comes in from the southwest. River network is sparse. There are approximately 310 rivers in the region. The largest rivers are
Tobol and Torgai. The Tobol river includes the Verhnetobolsk, Karatomar, and Amangeldy water basins. The Kostanay Region has more than 5,000 lakes; the largest ones are located in Torgai dell,
Kushmurun,
Sarymoin,
Aksuat, and
Sarykopa. The woodland area is 2,175 km2 including 1,512 km2 of natural plantings. Due to the
Soviet Virgin Lands Campaign, much of the land was ploughed for
wheat. The Kostanay Region is rich in minerals, especially
iron ore. Magnetite ores and brown soolits are deposited from the Sokolovsk, Sarbaiskoe, Kachary, Avatsk, and Lisavosk regions. The total weight of the magnetite and hematite ores from the region combined is 15.7 billion tons, of which 5.7 billion tons are easy to enrich and don't demand a lot of enrichment. The bowels are especially rich in iron ore,
brown coal, asbestos, fire-resistant brick clay, flux, cement limestone, glass sand, building stones, among others. There are 19 locations in the region that deposit
bauxite, 7 that deposit
gold, and one for both
silver and
nickel. The Arakaragai and Amankaragai regions are filled with chernozems and pine forests. In the Naurzikmkaragai region, chestnut grounds with pine forests are prominent. The southern part of the region is dominated by grasslands and shrublands.
Water The region center, Kostanay, is supplied with water from Amangeldinsky water basins (underground volume 6.7 million cubic meters) and Kostanay deposit of underground waters (operational stocks - 33.5 million cube. m). The city of Lisakovsk gets water from the Verhnetobols water basins (underground volume totals 814 million cubic meters). Regional centers Sarykol, Karasu, and Uzunkol are supplied with water with Ishim water supply line and Sеrgeevsk water basin which is on the territory of the North-Kazakhstan region. 12 big water supply lines on the territory of Kostanay region give water to more than 220 settlements and 5 regional centers. Water delivery of other areas is carried out from local sources (deposits of underground waters). Karatomar water basins (underground volume 516 million cube. m) supply
Rudni, Каchar region and Fedorovka. == Archaeology ==