| Dzungaria |
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HISTORY Dzungaria is named after a Mongolian kingdom which existed in Central Asia during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It derived its name from the Dzungars , who were so called because they formed the left wing (''züün'', left; ''gar'', hand) of the Mongolian army. It was raised to its highest pitch by Kaldan or Bushtu Khan in the latter half of the 17th century, but completely destroyed by the Qing government about 1757 - 1759 . It has played an important part in the history of Mongolia and the great migrations of Mongolian stems westward. In 1911, its territory belonged partly to the Qing empire ( Xinjiang also known as East Turkestan , and north-western Mongolia) and partly to Russian Turkestan (provinces of Semiryechye and Semipalatinsk ). Its widest limit included Kashgar , Yarkand , Khotan , the whole region of the Tian Shan , and in short the greater proportion of that part of Central Asia which extends from 35 to 50 N. and from 72 to 97 E. CURRENT USAGE As a political or geographical term ''Dzungaria'' has practically disappeared from the map; but the range of mountains stretching north-east along the southern frontier of the Land Of The Seven Streams , as the district to the south-east of the Balkhash Lake is called, preserves the name of Dzungarian Alatau . It also gave name to Dzungarian Hamster s. In February 2006, a team of scientists from George Washington University conducting a study in the Junggar Basin unearthed the oldest fossil of a Tyrannosaur ever found. The species, named Guanlong , lived 160 million years ago, more than 90 million years before the famed Tyrannosaurus Rex . GEOGRAPHY Dzungaria is a largely Steppe and semidesert basin surrounded by high mountains: the Tian Shan in the south and the Altai in the north. Urumqi , Yining and Karamai are the main cities; other smaller Oasis towns dot the piedmont areas. ECONOMY Wheat , Barley , Oat s, and Sugar Beet s are grown, and Cattle , Sheep , and Horse s are raised. The fields are irrigated with melted snow from the permanently white-capped mountains. Dzungaria has deposits of Coal , Iron , and Gold , as well as large Oil Field s. DEMOGRAPHICS The population consists of Uyghur s, Kazakhs , Kyrgyz , Mongols, and Han Chinese . Since 1953 there has been a massive influx of Han Chinese to work on water conservation and industrial projects. SEE ALSO REFERENCES |
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