Orenburg region is one of the most beautiful and interesting places in Russia

Orenburg oblast occupies the south-eastern edge of the East European Plain, the southern part of the Urals and Southern Trans-Urals. The length of the region from west to east is 755 km, from north to south - 425 km. In the south, it borders with the Republic of Kazakhstan. The length of the state border is 1,876 km.

The national composition according to the 2010 census: Russians (75.9)%, Tatars (7.6%), Kazakhs (6%), Ukrainians (2.5%), Bashkirs (2.3%), Mordva (1.9%). The largest cities and towns are Orenburg (561,000) which is the capital of this region, Orsk (233,000), Novotroitsk (90,000), Buzuluk (86,000), Buguruslan (50,000).

The climate is continental. The average temperature in January is about minus 11.8 degrees Celsius, in July - plus 22.3 degrees Celsius.

Orenburg oblast is rich in mineral resources. In total, more than 2,500 deposits of 75 different raw materials have been discovered and developed. Oil, charcoal, ferrous and non-ferrous metals are key resources. The largest in Russia gas condensate deposit is located here. Oil is extracted (in the Ural area), iron ore (Khalilovskoye deposit), copper (Guyskoye deposit) and nickel ores, asbestos (Kiyembayevskoye deposit).

The leading industries of the local economy are fuel, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical, oil chemical and food industries. Agriculture is presented by crops growing and cattle breeding. Orenburg oblast has about 5.5% of all Russian farmland, it is considered as one of the main granaries of Russia. More than 3 million tons of grain crops are grown annually here.

Orenburg oblast is located at the crossroads of numerous railroads and highways making it a major transportation hub. Russia’s major gas and oil pipelines, connecting Siberian gas and oil fields to the European part of the country and other European countries, pass through the territory of this region.

Places of interest in Orenburg oblast

• Sol-Iletsk - a small town and spa resort located on the border with Kazakhstan,
• Gai - a mud-bath resort located about 40 km from Orsk,
• Orenburg downy shawls plant,
• Urtazymskie rocks in Kvarkensky district, 6.5 km south of the village of Urtazym - a geological, geomorphological and botanical monument of nature,
• Mount Zmeinaya (Khan Mountain, Khan’s Tomb) in Sol-Iletsk district, 1.5 km to the southeast of the village of Mikhailovka - a geological (paleontological) natural monument,
• Karagachskaya steppe in Adamovsky district, 12 km south-east of the village of Aydyrlinsky - a landscape and botanical natural monument,
• Starobelogorskie chalk mountains and Korsch-Urman oak forest in Novosergiyevsky district, south-western outskirts of the village of Staraya Belogorka - a landscape monument of nature,
• Camel Rock in Svetlinsky district - a geological and geomorphological natural monument,
• Karagayskiy forest and a gorge on the Guberlya River in Kuvandyksky district, 1.5 km north-west of the village of Karagay-Pokrovka - a geological and geomorphological, landscape monument of nature,
• Three hundred years pine trees in the national park “Buzuluk coniferous forest” in Buzuluk district, 2 km north of the village of Zapovedniy,
• Red Stones in Sorochinsky district, 2 km south-east of the village of Pervokrasnoe - a geomorphological natural monument,
• Mount Verblyuzhka (Dyuyatash) in Belyaevsky district, 3 km west of the village of Donskoye - a landscape, geological and geomorphological natural monument, 329.4 meters,
• Koskol lakes in Belyaevsky district, 13 km south-west of the village of Burlyksky - a hydrological, landscape and ornithological natural monument, two large karst lakes,
• Podstepinskaya rock in Gaisky district, 8.5 km west of the village of Guberlya - a geological and geomorphological natural monument, one of the most original rock-sculptures remnant of the Orenburg region,
• Mount Tasuba (Tas-Tube) in Akbulaksky district, 5 km north-west from the village of Yurievskiy - a geological and geomorphological natural monument.