a city (since 1967) and the administrative center of Mugodzhar Raion, Aktiubinsk Oblast, Kazakh SSR. Situated on the left bank of the Emba River, Emba has a railroad station on the Aktiubinsk-Tashkent line. Industry is represented by a branch of the Aktiubinsk Meat-packing Plant and enterprises serving railroad transportation.

a river in Aktiubinsk and Gur’ev oblasts, Kazakh SSR. The Emba is 712 km long and drains an area of 40,400 sq km. The river rises on the western slopes of the Mugodzhars and flows over the Cisural Plateau and the Caspian Lowland; the river disappears among salt bottoms 5 km from the Caspian Sea. For approximately 120 km, the upper course forms numerous meanders. In the summer, the channel of the river in its uppermost course consists of separate reaches; downstream, reaches of 4 to 5 m in depth give way to shallow pools. In the lower course, the river flows intermittently in the summer and divides into reaches.

The Emba is fed mainly by snow. During the spring high water in April and May, the flow is the greatest. The mean flow rate 152 km from the mouth is 17.5 cu m per sec, with a maximum rate of 1,240 cu m per sec. The water is heavily mineralized. In the upper course, it contains 150–200 mg of minerals per liter (l) in March and early April and as much as 800 mg/l in the summer; in the lower course, it contains 1,500–2,000 mg/l in the spring and 3,000–5,000 mg/l in the summer. The river’s main tributaries are the Temir on the right and the Atsaksy on the left. Water from the Emba is used for irrigation. Petroleum is extracted in the Emba basin (seeNORTHERN CASPIAN OIL AND GAS REGION).