Mugalzhar

{{Short description|Mountain range in northwestern Kazakhstan}}

{{Infobox mountain range

| name = Mugalzhar

| other_name= Мұғалжар / Мугоджары

| photo = Актюбинская область. Горы Мугоджары. Берёзовая роща.jpg

| photo_caption = Birch grove in the Mugalzhar

| highest= Ulken Baktybay

| elevation_m = 657

| elevation_ref =

| prominence =

| prominence_ref =

| parent_peak =

| isolation =

| map = Kazakhstan#European Russia

| map_caption = Location

| listing =

| location = Kazakhstan

| range =

| coordinates = {{Coord|48|38|38|N|58|32|47|E|format=dms}}

| geology= Sandstone, conglomerate, quartzite, schist, gneiss, granite, shale

| age= Precambrian, Paleozoic

| orogeny=

| range_coordinates = {{Coord|48|39|N|58|33|E|format=dms|display=it}}

| length_km= 200

| length_orientation= N/S

| width_km= 30

| width_orientation=E/W

| easiest_route =

}}

Mugalzhar ({{langx|kk|Мұғалжар}}), also known as Mugodzhar Hills or Mugodzhar Range ({{langx|ru|Мугоджары}}),[https://www.geonames.org/608797/gory-mugodzhary.html Gory Mugodzhary] Geonames is a mountain range of moderate height in the Aktobe Region of northwestern Kazakhstan.

Geography

Stretching in a roughly north/south direction, the Mugalzhar is a southern prolongation of the Ural Mountains. The northernmost section a narrow ridge that branches into two almost parallel ridges separated by the gently undulating {{convert|20|km|sp=us}} Alabass Basin ({{langx|ru|Алабасская котловина}}).{{cite web|url=https://www.booksite.ru/fulltext/1/001/008/078/822.htm|publisher=Great Soviet Encyclopedia|title=Мугоджары}}

The Mugalzhar has a length of about {{convert|200|km|sp=us}} with a width of {{convert|30|km|sp=us}}. It stretches from the Or River (река Орь) as a narrow range that further south splits in two: the Eastern Mugalzhar and Western Mugalzhar. The highest point is {{convert|657|m|sp=us}} high Mount Ulken Baktybay ({{ill|Boktybay|ru|Боктыбай}}), rising in the Eastern Mugalzhar.{{cite web|url=https://maps.vlasenko.net/smtm1000/m-40.jpg|title=M-40 Topographic Chart (in Russian)|access-date=9 January 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://maps.vlasenko.net/smtm1000/l-40.jpg|title=L-40 Topographic Chart (in Russian)|access-date=9 January 2024}}Google Earth

Located at the southern end, the Shoshkakol Buirat is a spur of low hills reaching a height of {{convert|408|m|sp=us}}. In the northern section, the wider Mugalzhar connects with the Guberlin Mountains.

=Hydrography=

The Mugalzhar forms the divide between the Caspian and Aral Sea basins.

Some of the rivers having their sources in the Mugalzhar are Or, Emba, Irgiz, Zhylandysay, Bolgasyn and Kauylzhyr.

References

{{Reflist}}