The Ustyurt or Ust-Yurt (from kk, Үстірт; uz, Ustyurt; tk, Üstyurt; — flat hill, plateau) is a transboundary clay
desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
shared by
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the s ...
,
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
and
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, Uzbeki ...
.
The plateau's semi-nomadic population raises
sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticate ...
,
goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...
s, and
camel
A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. ...
s.
Geography
The Ustyurt is located between the
Dead Kultuk,
Mangyshlak Peninsula and
Kara-Bogaz-Gol of the
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central A ...
to the west, and the
Aral Sea
The Aral Sea ( ; kk, Арал теңізі, Aral teñızı; uz, Орол денгизи, Orol dengizi; kaa, Арал теңизи, Aral teńizi; russian: Аральское море, Aral'skoye more) was an endorheic lake lying between Kazak ...
,
Amudarya Delta and
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 loca ...
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
Ustyurt Nature Reserve ( kz, Үстірт мемлекеттік табиғи қорығы, ''Üstırt memlekettık tabiği qoryğy''; russian: Устюрт национальный заповедник, ''Ustyurt natsional'nyy zapovednik''), or ...
(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') near the town of
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
The desert climate or arid climate ...
.
See also
*
Emba River
*
Transcaspian Region
*
Karakalpaks
*
Khwarezm oasis region
References
External links
*
Hundreds of desert kites in the Ustyurt Nat. Geographic
Plateaus of Kazakhstan
Landforms of Uzbekistan
Plateaus of Asia
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