North Kazakhstan

Along the Northern Borders

Russia lies north of Kazakhstan. Their mutual border is long and winding, starting at the north end of the Caspian Sea and ending where the eastern border with China starts (only a few miles west of Mongolia). Parts of this border is hilly (or mountainous, depending on one's perception). Toward the west is the extreme southern end of the Ural Mountains. Toward the east is the northern end of the Altai ranges. These mountains are very different from the Tien Shan along the southern border.

While some of the peaks are rather steep and sharp, they are not massive. The mountains are much older than the Tien Shan. There are substantial deposits of an amazing variety of minerals in northern Kazakhstan, including ferrous and non-ferrous metals, rare earths, gemstones, coal, and almost anything else one might want to mine.

The government is starting to promote northern Kazakhstan as a vacation area, for obvious reasons. The average European or American tourist is, however, not likely to go there - the area is rather remote from population centers. Without something more than outstanding scenery, northern Kazakhstan is not likely to lure many visitors.

However, the USSR established many factories in northern Kazakh-stan, near to raw materials sources. It is not unlikely that those industries will survive and grow - given sufficient time. The nearby recreational areas could help to attract qualified workers to those industries. Northern Kazakhstan would probably be more attractive, on the whole, than other parts of the country. Unfortunately, its winter climate can be rather severe - after all, western Siberia is just across the border.

Russia lies north of Kazakhstan. Their mutual border is long and winding, starting at the north end of the Caspian Sea and ending where the eastern border with China starts (only a few miles west of Mongolia). Parts of this border is hilly (or mountainous, depending on one's perception). Toward the west is the extreme southern end of the Ural Mountains. Toward the east is the northern end of the Altai ranges. These mountains are very different from the Tien Shan along the southern border.
	While some of the peaks are rather steep and sharp, they are not massive. The mountains are much older than the Tien Shan. There are substantial deposits of an amazing variety of minerals in northern Kazakhstan, including ferrous and non-ferrous metals, rare earths, gemstones, coal, and almost anything else one might want to mine.
The government is starting to promote northern Kazakhstan as a vacation area, for obvious reasons. The average European or American tourist is, however, not likely to go there - the area is rather remote from population centers. Without something more than outstanding scenery, northern Kazakhstan is not likely to lure many visitors.
However, the USSR established many factories in northern Kazakh-stan, near to raw materials sources. It is not unlikely that those industries will survive and grow - given sufficient time. The nearby recreational areas could help to attract qualified workers to those industries. Northern Kazakhstan would probably be more attractive, on the whole, than other parts of the country. Unfortunately, its winter climate can be rather severe - after all, western Siberia is just across the border.