Aktobe Region in the context of Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic

The Aral Sea was an endorheic salt lake lying between Kazakhstan to its north and Uzbekistan to its south, which began shrinking in the 1960s and had largely dried up into desert by the 2010s. It was in the Aktobe and Kyzylorda regions of Kazakhstan and the Karakalpakstan autonomous region of Uzbekistan. The name roughly translates from Mongolic and Turkic languages to "Sea of Islands", a reference to the large number of islands (over 1,100) that once dotted its waters. The Aral Sea drainage basin encompasses Uzbekistan and parts of Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

Formerly the third-largest lake in the world with an area of 68,000 km (26,300 sq mi), the Aral Sea began shrinking in the 1960s after the rivers that fed it were diverted by Soviet irrigation projects. By 2007, it had declined to 10% of its original size, splitting into four lakes: the North Aral Sea, the eastern and western basins of the once far larger South Aral Sea, and the smaller intermediate Barsakelmes Lake. By 2009, the southeastern lake had disappeared and the southwestern lake had retreated to a thin strip at the western edge of the former southern sea. In subsequent years occasional water flows have led to the southeastern lake sometimes being replenished to a small degree. Satellite images by NASA in August 2014 revealed that for the first time in modern history the eastern basin of the Aral Sea had completely dried up. The eastern basin is now called the Aralkum Desert.

Mugalzhar (Kazakh: Мұғалжар), also known as Mugodzhar Hills or Mugodzhar Range (Russian: Мугоджары), is a mountain range of moderate height in the Aktobe Region of northwestern Kazakhstan.

The Irgiz (Kazakh: Ыргыз Yrgyz; Russian: Иргиз) is a river in Aktobe and Kostanay regions of Kazakhstan, a right tributary of the Turgay. It is 593 kilometres (368 mi) long, and has a drainage basin of 31,600 square kilometres (12,200 sq mi). It was the site of the Irghiz River skirmish in the early 13th century.

The Uil (Kazakh: Ойыл, romanized: Oyyl; Russian: Уил, romanized: Uil) is a river of Aktobe, Atyrau and West Kazakhstan regions, Kazakhstan. It is 800 kilometres (500 mi) long, and has a drainage basin of 31,500 square kilometres (12,200 sq mi).

49°N 56°E / 49°N 56°E / 49; 56The Sub-Ural Plateau (Russian: Подуральское плато, romanized: Poduralskoe Plato) is a low-elevation mountainous plateau mostly in west Kazakhstan and some northern parts are in Russia. It is also known as the Cis-Ural Plateau (Russian: Предуральское плато, romanized: Preduralskoe Plato). Its southern part is known as the Emba Plateau (Russian: Эмбинское плато, romanized: Embinskoe Plato), after the Emba River that flows across it.

In Kazakhstan, the majority of the plateau is within the Aktobe Region, with small northwester part in the West Kazakhstan Region. In Russia, a small northern part is within the Orenburg Oblast.