| Official Name: | Karatau |
| Native Name: | Kazakh: Қаратау Kazakh: Qaratau |
| Pushpin Map: | Kazakhstan |
| Pushpin Label Position: | top |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 280 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Kazakhstan |
| Coordinates: | 43.1667°N 97°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Jambyl Region |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Established Title: | Settlement |
| Established Date: | 1963 |
| Leader Title: | Akim (mayor) |
| Leader Name: | Madibek Kanatbek Kaishybekovich |
| Population Total: | 27,667 |
| Population As Of: | 2019 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 080800-080803 |
| Area Code: | +7 72644 |
| Utc Offset: | +6 |
Karatau (Қаратау, Qaratau) is an administrative center in the Talas region located in the Jambyl Region in the south of Kazakhstan. It has an estimated population of roughly 30,000 in 1999.[1], the population is now 27,667.[2] The largest city from Karatau, Taraz, is approximately 100 km to the southwest.
The name Karatau means Black Mountain in the Kazakh language. Karatau was named after the Karatau Mountain range which it is located next to and was famous during the Soviet era for phosphate.
As part of the de-russification of the Kazakh language, Karatau will be re-written with Latin scripts in 2025 and spelled Qaratau.[3]
Krisha KZ reported on Karatau describing this town as a ghost town in December, 2019. The value of apartments in Karatau, according to Krisha, was between $3300–$11,500 USD.[4]
During the Soviet Union times, the main functioning industrial enterprise in the town was the phosphorite factory.
Karatau is connected by railway with Taraz. There is also a bus and private taxi services to Taraz.
Karatau is located along a mountain range, a northwest spur of the Tien-Shan. Length, about ; maximum altitude, at Mount Bessaz. The range is composed of shale, sandstone, and a considerable amount of limestone and dolomite, in which karst formations are well developed. The mountains have flattened tops and steep slopes and are covered with steppe vegetation and mountain xerophytes. There are important deposits of phosphorites.[5]
Karatau has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk) with strong continental influences. It has a mean January temperature of and a mean July temperature of .