Almaty Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

Almaty

Алматы

Flag

Seal

First settled

10th-9th century BC

Founded

1854

Incorporated (city)

1867

Area

• Total

324.8 km² (125.4 sq mi)

Elevation

500 - 1,700 m (1,640 - 5,577 ft)

Population

(2005)

• Total

1,226,300

• Density

3,776/km² (9,780/sq mi)

Time zone

UTC+6 (BTT)

Postal code

050000 - 050063

Area code(s)

+7 727

Website

http://www.almaty.kz

Almaty (Kazakh: Алматы; formerly known as Alma-Ata (Алма-Ата), also Verniy, (Верный)) is the largest city in Kazakhstan. It has a population of over 1,700,000 people (as of 2015). Eight percent of the population of the country live in Almaty. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1927 to 1998. Although it is not the capital today, Almaty is still the major commercial center of Kazakhstan.

The city is close to China, and was once on the northern silk route between China and the Middle East. Its name derives from the Turkic languages.

The city is in an earthquake zone. There have been three quite serious earthquakes in the last 150 years.

History
Climate
Architecture
- TV tower
Name
Images for kids
See also

History

On 4 February 1854 the Russian Empire decided to build a fort Verniy on the west bank of the Malaya Almatinka river. Later Russian settlers arrived. In 1922 the Soviet Union renamed the city to Alma-Ata. In 1927 Alma-Ata became the capital of the Kazakh SSR.

Climate

Almaty has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa in the Koeppen climate classification).

Architecture

TV tower

Almaty TV tower is the highest TV tower above sea level (1130 m.). The tower is the highest building in the city (372 m.). This building able to withstand 10.0 magnitude.

Panoramic night view of Almaty from Kok-Tobe

Name

The name "Almaty" comes from the Kazakh word for "apple" (алма). The name is often translated as a city "rich with apples". The older Soviet-era Russian name for the city, Alma-Ata, comes from a mistake (the name literally means "Grandfather of apples"). In the area around Almaty, there are many different species of the wild apples. The region is thought to be the ancestral home of the apple. A local species of apple, the wild Malus sieversii, may be the ancestor of the modern domestic apple.

Images for kids

Zenkov Cathedral, a 19th-century Russian Orthodox cathedral located in Panfilov Park, is the fourth tallest wooden building in the world.
The former Presidential Palace
World War II monument "Feat" in Park of the 28 Panfilov Guardsmen
Trolleybus in Almaty city
Picture taken during a temperature inversion, showing smog trapped over Almaty
Al-Farabi Avenue
Map of Almaty (labeled as ALMA-ATA) and surrounding region from the International Map of the World (1948)
Abay Opera House
Kazakh Museum of Folk Musical Instruments
View of Almaty from Kök-Töbe
Ascention Cathedral in Almaty
Medeu
Entrance to the First President's Park, 2010
Almaty International Airport is the largest airport in Kazakhstan.
Almaty Bike station
The final of the bandy tournament at the 2011 Asian Winter Games between Kazakhstan and Mongolia
2017 Winter Universiade
Fountain in First President's Park
Zodiac Fountain
Nedelka Prospect
Fountains in Republic Square
Fountain in Abai Square
East Fountain
Panfilov Park
Kök Töbe cable car, 2007
Shymbulak Valley
Watchtower in middle of Big Almaty Lake
A modern Almaty street
The Central State Museum of Kazakhstan
Lake Sayran, on the western side of the city
Aerial view of Raymbek avenue
Raymbek batyr Station, Almaty Metro
The Ascension Cathedral in winter
Bronze statues of The Beatles by sculptor Eduard Kazaryan
Old House, constructed in 1908, at Furmanov street
The Musrepov Academic Youth Theater
The Medeo ice skating stadium
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University
Fountain in Almaty
Almaty 1 train station
City border
Statue of Vladimir Lenin

Almaty facts for kids

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