Pavlodar, city in northeastern Kazakhstan, administrative center of Pavlodar Province, situated on the right bank of the Irtysh River. It is only 100 km (60 mi) from the Russian-Kazakhstan border to the east. Pavlodar has large oil refineries to supply western Siberian oil and oil products to Central Asia. An alumina plant was established in Pavlodar in 1964, using bauxite ore hauled from Argalyk, a city 1,000 km (600 mi) to the west. A large copper and molybdenum deposit was discovered nearby in 1930, but has not been economically feasible to mine because of the low ore content. A dam constructed on the Irtysh River upstream from Pavlodar provides electricity for the alumina plant; it also supplies water to the important IrtyshQaraghandy- canal system, completed in 1972, irrigating 37,000 hectares (90,000 acres) of land around Pavlodar. A large tractor plant in Pavlodar produces the Kazakhstan tractor. Pavlodar was founded in 1720 as a Russian frontier outpost as the Russian imperial army expanded southward into Central Asia. Population (1991) 342,500.
