The New International Encyclopædia/Tobolsk (government)

TOBOLSK′. Russ. pron. tō̇-bō̇′y’sk. A government of Western Siberia, bounded by the Arctic Ocean on the north, the governments of Tomsk and Yeniseisk on the east, the territories of Akmolinsk and Semipalatinsk on the south, and European Russia on the west (Map: Asia, G 2). Area, estimated at 539,659 square miles. The surface is flat with the exception of the northwestern part, which is covered with offshoots of the Ural Mountains, attaining an altitude of over 4000 feet. The larger part of the north belongs to the region of polar tundras and is practically uninhabited. The southern part is somewhat undulating and consists to a large extent of vast steppes, well watered and with a rich black soil which makes that part of the government one of the richest agricultural regions in the Empire. The chief waterway is the Obi (q.v.), which, with its great tributary, the Irtysh (q.v.), drains almost the entire region. Lakes are very numerous and some of them are salty. The climate is continental and severe, the average annual temperature varying from 24° at Berezov (q.v.) in the north to about 32° at Tobolsk in the south. The immigration into Tobolsk has latterly been very strong, and some parts in the south are as densely populated as any rural part of European Russia. The agricultural holdings are comparatively large, and considerable quantities of grain are exported. Wheat and rye are the principal products. Dairying is a growing industry and the export of butter exceeds $1,500,000 per annum. The manufactures are chiefly paper, cloth, spirits, leather, and glassware. Of the population of 1,438,484 in 1897, the non-Russian element numbered only about 90,000, composed chiefly of Tatars, Ostiaks, Samoyeds, and Voguls.