Morphological Characteristics of East Kazakhstan as a Factor of Geotourism Development

Abstract

Due to its innovativeness, geotourism is actively developing all over the world. The article discusses the scientific and educational aspects of the development of geotourism in East Kazakhstan thanks to the geomorphological attractiveness of the region. The formation of a national geotourism market based on unique geological and geomorphological objects is relevant because of its innovativeness and possible profit both as a tourist activity and through the creation of a network of global geoparks in Kazakhstan. The article is devoted to the analysis of the recreational-geomorphological attractiveness of the territory and methodological approaches to awareness in domestic and foreign recreational-geomorphological literature. The development of ideas about the importance of the geomorphological structure and dynamics of the relief for recreational activities has been widely developed. It started in Western European tourism practice first and foremost and since the late 1990s of the last century began to develop in the post-Soviet space (in the CIS countries). The paper describes the unique geological and geomorphological natural monuments of the East Kazakhstan region, and the typology of geomorphological features of the region. The author substantiates the possibility of creating a geopark as a backbone tourist territory, contributing to the development of domestic and inbound tourism in the region. The article describes goals and tasks of creating a geopark in the transboundary region of Altai region.

Untitled

“…A typical upland Kazakh steppe, where the forms of low hills and elongated ridges alternate with flat spaces and wide river valleys, replaces the intermontane plains. Towards the west, the elevation decreases, the topography becomes more flattened and plateaus occupy a large place in this part (Zhanabayev et al, 2023). The relief amplitude varies from 145 to 4500 meters above sea level (Belukha Mountain).…”

Neverovsky Palaeoreef and Associated Deep-Marine Facies: High-Value Late Devonian Geoheritage from the Rudny Altai

“…Despite the geological richness and the long history of geological research in the region, the Altai does not boast extensive geoheritage studies. Previous research considered the geoheritage and geotourism resources of particular areas of Xinjiang in China [19], East Kazakhstan [20][21][22][23], northeast Gobi Altai in Mongolia [24], and Zmeinogorsk and a few other localities in Russia [25,26]. The number of the studied areas and the reported geosites are too small compared to the huge size of the Altai and the diversity of its geological wonders.…”