Atyrau
Encyclopedia
Atyrau known as Guryev until 1991, is a city in Kazakhstan
, and the capital of Atyrau Province
. It is located at the mouth of the Ural River
, 2700 kilometers west of Almaty
and 350 kilometers east of the Russian city of Astrakhan
. Other transliterations include Aterau, Atirau, Atyraw, Atyraou, Atırav, Atıraw.
Modern Atyrau is famous for its oil and fish industries. It has 154,100 inhabitants (2007, up from 142,500 (1999 census)), 90% ethnic Kazakhs
(up from 80%), the rest being mostly Russians
and other ethnic groups such as Tatars
and Ukrainians
. Since October 2006, its mayor is Salimzhan Naqpayev.
(literally, Lower Yaik Fort) by the Russian trader Gury Nazarov, a native of Yaroslavl
, who specialized in trade with Khiva
and Bukhara
. The fort was plundered by the Yaik Cossacks, leading the Guriev family to rebuild it in stone (1647–62). Tsar Alexis sent a garrison of Streltsy
to protect the fort from Cossack incursions. Despite these efforts, the Cossack rebel Stepan Razin held the town in 1667 and 1668. The fort gradually lost its strategic significance and was demolished in 1810. Between 1708 and 1992 the city was known as Guriev.
) is Kazakhstan's main harbour city
on the Caspian Sea
at the delta
of the Ural River
. Atyrau city is approximately 20 meters below sea level. The city is considered by many to be located both in Asia
and Europe
, as it is divided by the Ural River
.
The city is a hub for the oil
-rich Caspian Depression
; because of this, many oil wells have been drilled in the Tengiz Field
and Kashagan Field
areas. A pipeline runs from Atyrau to Samara
, where it joins the Russian pipeline system. A separate oil pipeline runs from the Tengiz field
to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiisk.
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, and the capital of Atyrau Province
Atyrau Province
Atyrau Oblast is a province of Kazakhstan. It is situated in the west of the country around the northeast of the Caspian Sea. Its capital is the city of Atyrau, with a population of 142,500 people; the province itself has 480,000 people...
. It is located at the mouth of the Ural River
Ural River
The Ural or Jayıq/Zhayyq , known as Yaik before 1775, is a river flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan. It arises in the southern Ural Mountains and ends at the Caspian Sea. Its total length is 1,511 mi making it the third longest river in Europe after the Volga and the Danube...
, 2700 kilometers west of Almaty
Almaty
Almaty , also known by its former names Verny and Alma-Ata , is the former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation's largest city, with a population of 1,348,500...
and 350 kilometers east of the Russian city of Astrakhan
Astrakhan
Astrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the left bank of the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea at an altitude of below the sea level. Population:...
. Other transliterations include Aterau, Atirau, Atyraw, Atyraou, Atırav, Atıraw.
Modern Atyrau is famous for its oil and fish industries. It has 154,100 inhabitants (2007, up from 142,500 (1999 census)), 90% ethnic Kazakhs
Kazakhs
The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....
(up from 80%), the rest being mostly Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
and other ethnic groups such as Tatars
Tatars
Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
and Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
. Since October 2006, its mayor is Salimzhan Naqpayev.
History
The wooden fort at the mouth of the Yaik River was founded in 1645 as Nizhny Yaitzky gorodokGorodok
Gorodok may refer to:*Gorodok, alternative name of Haradok, Belarus*Gorodok, Russia, name of several inhabited localities in Russia-See also:*Horodok *Bely Gorodok, an urban-type settlement in Tver Oblast...
(literally, Lower Yaik Fort) by the Russian trader Gury Nazarov, a native of Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historical part of the city, a World Heritage Site, is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl Rivers. It is one of the Golden Ring cities, a group of historic cities...
, who specialized in trade with Khiva
Khiva
Khiva is a city of approximately 50,000 people located in Xorazm Province, Uzbekistan. It is the former capital of Khwarezmia and the Khanate of Khiva...
and Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
. The fort was plundered by the Yaik Cossacks, leading the Guriev family to rebuild it in stone (1647–62). Tsar Alexis sent a garrison of Streltsy
Streltsy
Streltsy were the units of Russian guardsmen in the 16th - early 18th centuries, armed with firearms. They are also collectively known as Marksman Troops .- Origins and organization :...
to protect the fort from Cossack incursions. Despite these efforts, the Cossack rebel Stepan Razin held the town in 1667 and 1668. The fort gradually lost its strategic significance and was demolished in 1810. Between 1708 and 1992 the city was known as Guriev.
Geography
Atyrau (together with AktauAktau
Aktau , formerly known as Shevchenko , is a city in Kazakhstan's Mangyshlak Peninsula and country's only seaport on the Caspian Sea. It is the capital of Mangystau Province in western Kazakhstan...
) is Kazakhstan's main harbour city
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
on the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
at the delta
River delta
A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...
of the Ural River
Ural River
The Ural or Jayıq/Zhayyq , known as Yaik before 1775, is a river flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan. It arises in the southern Ural Mountains and ends at the Caspian Sea. Its total length is 1,511 mi making it the third longest river in Europe after the Volga and the Danube...
. Atyrau city is approximately 20 meters below sea level. The city is considered by many to be located both in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, as it is divided by the Ural River
Ural River
The Ural or Jayıq/Zhayyq , known as Yaik before 1775, is a river flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan. It arises in the southern Ural Mountains and ends at the Caspian Sea. Its total length is 1,511 mi making it the third longest river in Europe after the Volga and the Danube...
.
The city is a hub for the oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
-rich Caspian Depression
Caspian Depression
Caspian Depression or Pricaspian/Peri-Caspian Depression/Lowland is a low-lying flatland region encompassing the northern part of the Caspian Sea, the largest enclosed body of water on Earth. It is the larger northern part of the wider Aral-Caspian Depression around the Aral and Caspian seas.The...
; because of this, many oil wells have been drilled in the Tengiz Field
Tengiz Field
Tengiz field is an oil and gas field located in northwestern Kazakhstan's low-lying wetlands along the northeast shores of the Caspian Sea...
and Kashagan Field
Kashagan Field
Kashagan Field is an offshore oil field located in Kazakhstan. The field is situated in the northern part of the Caspian Sea close to the Kazakhstan city of Atyrau. The field was discovered in 2000 and was one of the larger discoveries in that decade, it is estimated that the Kashagan Field has...
areas. A pipeline runs from Atyrau to Samara
Samara, Russia
Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...
, where it joins the Russian pipeline system. A separate oil pipeline runs from the Tengiz field
Tengiz Field
Tengiz field is an oil and gas field located in northwestern Kazakhstan's low-lying wetlands along the northeast shores of the Caspian Sea...
to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiisk.