Turgay

Turgay, also spelled Turgai, or Turgaj, region and former oblysy (administrative region), central Kazakhstan. The administrative unit was created in 1970, though a larger unit of the same name existed in tsarist times, and it embraced the western fringes of the Kazakh Upland and part of the Turgay Steppe. The main rivers are the Ishim, flowing north, and the Turgay, south. The climate is continental, and annual precipitation varies from 8 to 12 inches (200 to 300 mm). There are important bauxite mines at Arkalyk, and large fire-clay deposits in the same area are exploited. Crops, chiefly grain, are grown in the north, while the arid, sparsely inhabited south is given over mainly to sheep. The Tobol-Tselinograd railway traverses the region, with a branch line from Yesil to Arkalyk. Other cities include Oktyabrsky, Zhaksy, Derzhavinsky, and Amangeldy. The Turgay oblysy was divided between Atmola and Kostanay oblysy in an administrative reorganization in 1997.