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Ustyurt Plateau
The Ustyurt or Ust-Yurt (from kk, Үстірт; uz, Ustyurt; tk, Üstyurt; — flat hill, plateau) is a transboundary clay desert shared by Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The plateau's semi-nomadic population raises sheep, goats, and camels. Geography The Ustyurt is located between the Dead Kultuk, Mangyshlak Peninsula and Kara-Bogaz-Gol of the Caspian Sea to the west, and the Aral Sea, Amudarya Delta and Sarygamysh Lake to the east. It extends roughly , with an average altitude of . Its highest point rises to in the south-west. At its northeastern edge it drops steeply to the Aral Sea and the surrounding plain. Protected areas Kazakhstan created the Ustyurt Nature Reserve (223,300 hectares) in July, 1984 in the south of Mangystausky district in Eralievsky region. It preserves rare fauna and flora such as the Ustyurt Mountain sheep and the Saiga antelope. Among its features are Sherkala Mountain and the concretions found in the Torysh ('Valley of Balls') n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbekistan to the south, and Turkmenistan to the southwest, with a coastline along the Caspian Sea. Its capital is Astana, known as Nur-Sultan from 2019 to 2022. Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, was the country's capital until 1997. Kazakhstan is the world's largest landlocked country, the largest and northernmost Muslim-majority country by land area, and the ninth-largest country in the world. It has a population of 19 million people, and one of the lowest population densities in the world, at fewer than 6 people per square kilometre (15 people per square mile). The country dominates Central Asia economically and politically, generating 60 percent of the region's GDP, primarily through its oil and gas industry; it also has vast minera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarygamysh Lake
The Sarygamysh Lake, also Sarykamysh or Sary-Kamysh (, , ), is a lake in Central Asia. It is about midway between the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea. It is the largest lake in Turkmenistan, in which three quarters of the entire lake's area is located (a quarter of the area falls on Uzbekistan). The Sarykamysh basin and the Sarykamysh delta of the Amu Darya river are physical and geographical nature regions of the Dashoguz Region of Turkmenistan. Up until the 17th century, the lake was fed by the Uzboy River, a distributary of the Amu Darya River, which continued on to the Caspian Sea. Today, its main source of water is a canal from the Amu Darya but also the runoff water from surrounding irrigated lands, containing high levels of pesticides, herbicides and heavy metals. Contribution to the drying up of the Aral Sea This and many other "unintended" lakes, such as Aydar Lake on the Syr Darya deny the Aral Sea about of annual inflow of water, directly contributing to, if no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plateaus Of Kazakhstan
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides have deep hills or escarpments. Plateaus can be formed by a number of processes, including upwelling of volcanic magma, extrusion of lava, and erosion by water and glaciers. Plateaus are classified according to their surrounding environment as intermontane, piedmont, or continental. A few plateaus may have a small flat top while others have wide ones. Formation Plateaus can be formed by a number of processes, including upwelling of volcanic magma, extrusion of lava, Plate tectonics movements and erosion by water and glaciers. Volcanic Volcanic plateaus are produced by volcanic activity. The Columbia Plateau in the north-western United States is an example. They may be formed by upwelling of volcanic magma or extrusion of lava. The un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Khwarezm
Khwarazm (; Old Persian: ''Hwârazmiya''; fa, خوارزم, ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the east by the Kyzylkum Desert, on the south by the Karakum Desert, and on the west by the Ustyurt Plateau. It was the center of the Iranian Khwarezmian civilization, and a series of kingdoms such as the Afrighid dynasty and the Anushtegin dynasty, whose capitals were (among others) Kath, Gurganj (now Konye-Urgench) and – from the 16th century on – Khiva. Today Khwarazm belongs partly to Uzbekistan and partly to Turkmenistan. Names and etymology Names Khwarazm has been known also as ''Chorasmia'', ''Khaurism'', ''Khwarezm'', ''Khwarezmia'', ''Khwarizm'', ''Khwarazm'', ''Khorezm'', ''Khoresm'', ''Khorasam'', ''Kharazm'', ''Harezm'', ''Horezm'', and ''Chorezm''. In Avestan the name is '; in Old Persian 𐎢𐎺𐎠𐎼𐏀� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karakalpaks
The Karakalpaks or Qaraqalpaqs (; kaa, Qaraqalpaqlar, Қарақалпақлар, قاراقلپقلر), are a Turkic ethnic group native to Karakalpakstan in Northwestern Uzbekistan. During the 18th century, they settled in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya and in the (former) delta of Amu Darya on the southern shore of the Aral Sea. The name "Karakalpak" comes from two words: ''qara'' meaning "black" and '' qalpaq'' meaning "hat". The Karakalpaks number nearly 620,000 worldwide, out of which about 500,000 live in the Uzbek Republic of Karakalpakstan. Etymology The word Karakalpak is derived from the Russian Cyrillic spelling of their name and has become the accepted name for these people in the West. The Karakalpaks endonymically refer to themselves as ''Qaraqalpaqs'', whilst the Uzbeks call them ''Qoraqalpoqs''. The word means "black hat" and has caused much confusion in the past, since historians linked them with other earlier peoples (such as Cherniye Klobuki), w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transcaspian Region
The Transcaspian Oblast (russian: Закаспійская область), or just simply Transcaspia (russian: Закаспія), was the section of Russian Empire and early Soviet Russia to the east of the Caspian Sea during the second half of the 19th century until 1924. It was bounded to the south by Iran's Khorasan Province and Afghanistan, to the north by the former Russian province of Uralsk, and to the northeast by the former Russian protectorates of Khiva and Bukhara. Area, 212,545 sq. miles. Part of Russian Turkestan, Transcaspian Oblast corresponds roughly to the territory of present-day Turkmenistan and southwestern of Kazakhstan. The name of the oblast (literally, "Beyond Caspian") is explained by the fact that until the construction of the Trans-Aral Railway in the early 20th century the easiest way to reach this oblast from central Russia (or from Russian Transcaucasia) was across the Caspian Sea, by boat from Astrakhan or Baku. Former administrative divisio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emba River
The Emba ( kk, Ембі ''Embı'' or ''Jem'', russian: Эмба) in west Kazakhstan rises in the Mugodzhar Hills and flows into the Caspian Sea. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . It flows through the north of the Ust-Urt plateau, and reaches the Caspian by a series of shallow s, which were navigable in the 18th century. The lower course traverses an area of salt domes and the petroleum-rich Emba fields. It is sometimes regarded as a definition for the natural ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shetpe
Shetpe (, ''Шетпе'', ''شەتپە'') is a selo and the administrative center of Mangystau District in Mangystau Region in western Kazakhstan. Population: Climate Shetpe has a cold desert climate (Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ... ''BWk''). References Populated places on the Caspian Sea Populated places in Mangystau Region {{Kazakhstan-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sherkala
Sherkala ( kk, Шерқала, Şerqala, شەرقالا) is a mountain in Mangystau Province, western Kazakhstan, close to the town of Shetpe (Шетпе, ''Şetpe'', شەتپە). It has been described as looking like a piala, yurt or Sphinx with steep south and east sides and a more eroded northern side. The mountain is sited between the central and western Karatau Mountains. Remains of a medieval caravanserei and fort belonging to Jochi, Genghis Khan's elder son are on top and at the foot of the mountain. A tunnel can be used to access the summit. The ruins of the medieval settlement of Kyzylkala and of Mankashlak (Mankyshlak), a Turkmen town on the Silk Road, are also nearby as is Torysh (The Valley of Balls). The mountain was, according to legend, besieged by the Sheikh of Khoresm Astsyz after he had conquered Mankashlak. After four months the attackers dug a tunnel sideways through the mountain into the well shaft of the town above, cutting off their rope and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saiga Antelope
The saiga antelope (, ''Saiga tatarica''), or saiga, is a critically endangered antelope which during antiquity inhabited a vast area of the Eurasian steppe spanning the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains in the northwest and Caucasus in the southwest into Mongolia in the northeast and Dzungaria in the southeast. During the Pleistocene, they also occurred in Beringian North America and the British Isles. Today, the dominant subspecies (''S. t. tatarica'') is only found in one region in Russia (in the Republic of Kalmykia and Astrakhan Oblast) and three areas in Kazakhstan (the Ural, Ustiurt, and Betpak-Dala populations). A portion of the Ustiurt population migrates south to Uzbekistan and occasionally Turkmenistan in winter. It is extirpated from China, Ukraine, and southwestern Mongolia. The Mongolian subspecies (''S. t. mongolica'') is found only in western Mongolia. Taxonomy and phylogeny The scientific name ''Capra tatarica'' was coined by Carl Linnaeus in 1766 in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ustyurt Mountain Sheep
The Ustyurt mountain sheep (''Ovis vignei cycloceros''), often referred to as the Turkmenian mountain sheep, is a subspecies of the urial that inhabits the mountain plateau regions of parts of Central Asia, especially the Ustyurt plateau from which it takes its name. It is particularly common in northern and eastern Turkmenistan and western Kazakhstan. A number of reserves have been established in Central Asia to protect the sheep and other wildlife. The sheep are found in Gaplaňgyr Nature Reserve Gaplaňgyr or Kaplankyr is a mountain plateau and nature reserve (''zapovednik'') of northern Turkmenistan. It was established in 1979. It is a place for the protection and restoration of indigenous flora and fauna, it is located on the Gaplaňgy ... for instance. External linksCentral Asian northern desert {{Kazakhstan-stub Mammals of Central Asia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ustyurt Nature Reserve
Ustyurt Nature Reserve ( kz, Үстірт мемлекеттік табиғи қорығы, ''Üstırt memlekettık tabiği qoryğy''; russian: Устюрт национальный заповедник, ''Ustyurt natsional'nyy zapovednik''), or the Ustyurt National Biosphere Reserve, is a nature reserve, created on 12 July 1984 in what was then the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (K.S.S.R.), in Mangystau Region, southwest Kazakhstan. Its area is , and lies within Ustyurt Plateau. The reserve lies near the borders with Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Its purpose is to preserve the deserts as well as the rare flora and fauna. The Sherkala mountain and the Valley of Balls lie within the reserve. In addition, it contains a big variety of flora and fauna. Climate The temperatures vary greatly: from more than during the summer months, down to less than during the winter months. The average annual precipitation is only . Flora and fauna There are 250 species of flora from 163 differe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
