Akmola

Oblast (region) in northern Kazakhstan; area 124,600 sq km/48,108 sq mi; population (1996) 300,000. The main cities are Astana (capital) and Atbasar. The region is on productive steppe land, devoted to intensive grain growing since the 1960s; saltwater Lake Tenghiz (in Kurgalzhino Nature Reserve) is in the southwest of the region; principal rivers are the Ishim and the Nura; mineral resources include gold, antimony, coal, and bauxite. The region has chiefly agricultural industries (wheat, barley, oats, and millet), with sheep-raising in the west.