Editing Geography of Kazakhstan (section)

==Topography and drainage==
[[Image:Astana-steppe-7748.jpg|thumb|left|In the [[steppe]]s of Central Asia ([[Akmola Region]])]]
There is considerable topographical variation within Kazakhstan. The highest point is the top of the mountain [[Khan Tengri]], on the Kyrgyz and Chinese border in the [[Tian Shan]] range, with an elevation of {{convert|6995|m|abbr=on}} ({{convert|7010|m|abbr=on}} with ice cap) above sea level; the lowest point is the bottom of the [[Karagiye]] depression at {{convert|132|m|abbr=on}} below sea level, in the [[Mangystau]] province east of the [[Caspian Sea]]. Most of the country lies at between {{convert|200-300|m|abbr=on}} above sea level, but Kazakhstan's Caspian shore includes some of the lowest elevations on Earth.

Many of the peaks of the [[Altay Mountains|Altay]] and Tien Shan ranges are covered with snow, year-round, and their runoff is the source for most of Kazakhstan's freshwater rivers, streams, and lakes. Kazakhstan's [[Almaty]] region is also home to the [[Mynzhylky mountain plateau]].

Except for the [[Tobol River|Tobol]], [[Ishim River|Ishim]], and [[Irtysh River|Irtysh]] rivers (the Kazakh names for which are, respectively, Tobyl, Esil, and Ertis), portions of which flow through Kazakhstan, all of Kazakhstan's rivers and streams are part of landlocked systems. They either flow into isolated bodies of water such as the Caspian Sea or simply disappear into the steppes and deserts of central and southern Kazakhstan. Many rivers, streams, and lakes are seasonal, evaporating in summer. The three largest bodies of water are [[Lake Balkhash]], a partially fresh, partially saline lake in the east, near [[Almaty]], the Caspian Sea, and the [[Aral Sea]], all of which lie partially within Kazakhstan.

Some 9.4 percent of Kazakhstan's land is mixed [[prairie]] and [[forest]] or treeless prairie, primarily in the north or in the basin of the [[Ural River]] in the west. More than three-quarters of the country, including the entire west and most of the south, is either semidesert (33.2 percent) or desert (44 percent). The terrain in these regions is bare, eroded, broken [[Highland|uplands]] ([[Upland and lowland]]), with sand dunes in the [[Kyzyl Kum|Qizilqum]] ("The Red Sands"; in the Russian form, [[Kyzylkum]]), [[Moyunqum]] (in the Russian form, Muyunkum) and [[Barsuki Desert|Barsuki]] deserts, which occupy south-central Kazakhstan.

===Water resources===
{{unsourced section|date=January 2020}}
;Total renewable water resources:
:*107.5 km<sup>3</sup> (2011)

;Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
:*Total: 21.14 km<sup>3</sup>/yr (4%/30%/66%)
:*Per capita: 1,304 m<sup>3</sup>/yr (2010)

===Waters (rivers and lakes)===
:*Northeastern shore of the [[Caspian Sea]]
:*Part of [[Aral Sea]]
:*48,000 large and small lakes such as [[Balkhash Lake]], [[Lake Zaysan]] and [[Lake Alakol]].
:*8,500 rivers