Natural zones of Kazakhstan: from forest-steppe to desert

Kazakhstan’s natural zones run in bands from north to south across the plains: forest-steppe, steppe, semi-desert and desert. Study notes put plains at 86 percent of the country. In the southern and eastern mountains, zones change with altitude instead.

The zones at a glance

We show two sets of shares because the sources disagree. Neither adds up to 100 percent, since neither counts mountains and other land separately. Cite the source if you use a number.

In practice, desert and semi-desert together cover 58 percent of the country in both sets of figures, which is more than most visitors picture when they think of the Kazakh steppe.

Soils draw the same lines

Study notes from iTest.kz give black earth (chernozem) up to 52°N, chestnut soils between 52° and 48°N, and brown and grey-brown soils south of 48°N, which cover 44 percent of the country. That is why grain farming concentrates in the north, and why farming in the south depends on irrigation.

Where to see each zone

UNESCO lists Saryarka for its Central Asian steppe and lakes, so Korgalzhyn is the easy place to start. For animals, see Kazakhstan’s animals. For trips, see deserts and dunes.

Where to go for open grassland, and where you need approval first, is covered in the Kazakh steppe.