Chink () is a regional term in

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

for steep

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...

and

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. Due to the similarity, the term '' scarp'' may mistakenly be incorrectly used inte ...

s and

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of Rock (geology), rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. ...

s of heights up to 350 m, often around flat-top elevations. They are the result of

denudation Denudation is the geological process in which moving water, ice, wind, and waves erode the Earth's surface, leading to a reduction in elevation and in relief of landforms and landscapes. Although the terms erosion and denudation are used interchang ...

and abrasion during the regressions of the Caspian and AralФАУНА НАЗЕМНЫХ ПОЗВОНОЧНЫХ ВОСТОЧНОГО ЧИНКА ПЛАТО УСТЮРТ
/ref> seas. Most commonly they may be found on the Mangyshlak Peninsula ( Kenderli-Kayasan nature reserve) and Ustyurt Plateau ( Ust'urt Nature reserve). Chinks may also result from

tectonic uplift Tectonic uplift is the orogeny, geologic uplift of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface that is attributed to plate tectonics. While Isostasy, isostatic response is important, an increase in the mean elevation of a region can only occur in response to ...

s. They are usually formed when top hard rocks overlay soft rock layers. Detached chinks are called ''ostantsy'' (останцы) in Russian, literally akin to the word "leftovers". The Ustyurt Plateau is nearly completely bounded by chinks on all sides. In the east it is the former west shore of the Aral Sea, in the south its chink breaks to the Kunya-Darya (Куня-Дарья) alluvial plain and the Uzboy valley, in the west to the Karynyaryk depression and to the North Caspian Sea Karakum sands, and in the north to the Caspian Depression. Ustyurt chinks often have multicolored layers, with colors of pale pink, blue, clear white, and others; and can form fancy landscapes.Устюртский заповедник, Западный Казахстан
/ref>

Gallery

File:Kyzylkup site at Ustyurt Nature Reserve.jpg, Kyzylkup File:Урочище Онере, сор Кендирли.jpg, ''Ostantsy'' in Kendirli Lake File:Кокосем.jpg,

Karakiya District Karakiya District () is a district of Mangystau Region in southwestern Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Eur ...

, Ustyurt File:Меловые горы в Мангистауской области Казахстана.jpg, , Karakiya File:Bozjyra Gorge 50MP Panorama.jpg, Bozzhyra "fangs"

References

{{reflist Erosion landforms Caspian Sea