The Karakum Desert ( ; rus, Каракумы, p=kərɐˈkumɨ), also spelt and (; ), is a

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

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 ...

. The name refers to the shale-rich sand beneath the surface. It occupies about 70 percent, or roughly , of

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

. The population is sparse, with an average of one person per . Rainfall is also rare, ranging from per year.

Geography

The desert covers roughly seventy percent of

, a long east–west swath. It sits east of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

which has a steep east bank. It adjoins, to the north, the long delta feeding the

South Aral Sea The South Aral Sea is a lake in the basin of the former Aral Sea that formed in 1987 when that body divided in two, due to diversion of river inflow for agriculture. In 2003, the South Aral Sea itself split into eastern and western basins, the ...

further north, another

endorheic lake An endorheic lake (also called a sink lake or terminal lake) is a collection of water within an endorheic basin, or sink, with no evident outlet. Endorheic lakes are generally Saline water, saline as a result of being unable to get rid of solutes ...

, about higher than the Caspian Sea. The delta is that of the

Amu Darya The Amu Darya ( ),() also shortened to Amu and historically known as the Oxus ( ), is a major river in Central Asia, which flows through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Rising in the Pamir Mountains, north of the Hindu Ku ...

river to the northeast, demarcating the long border with the

Kyzylkum Desert The Kyzylkum Desert (, قِیزِیل‌قُوم; , قىزىلقۇم) is the 15th largest desert in the world. Its name means ''Red Sand'' in Turkic languages. It is located in Central Asia, in the land between the confluent rivers Amu Darya and ...

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

. The desert is divided into three regions, the elevated northern Trans-Unguz Karakum, the low-lying Central Karakum, and the southeastern Karakum, home to a chain of

salt marshes A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open Seawater, saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the ti ...

. Since the early 1980s, the relatively small desert extension, the

Aralkum The Aralkum Desert ( Uzbek: Orolqum choʻli, Оролқум чўли, Kazakh: Аралқұм шөлі, Russian: Пустыня Аралкум) is a desert that has appeared since 1960 on the seabed once occupied by the Aral Sea. It lies to the ...

, has come to occupy most of the former

seabed The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as seabeds. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most of ...

of the

Aral Sea The Aral Sea () was an endorheic lake lying between Kazakhstan to its north and Uzbekistan to its south, which began shrinking in the 1960s and had largely dried up into desert by the 2010s. It was in the Aktobe and Kyzylorda regions of Kazakhst ...

, about . The sea has fluctuated over millennia, but its majority loss during the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

's existence coincided with great irrigation projects. The

North Aral Sea The North Aral Sea () is the portion of the former Aral Sea that is fed by the Syr Darya River. It split from the South Aral Sea in 1987–1988 as water levels dropped due to river diversion for agriculture. In 1925 a large site containing numer ...

was partly restored, but the South Aral Sea ebbed to a small-size stasis at its river mouth, which itself dried up by 2014, leaving only fragments of the former sea behind, such as

Barsakelmes Lake Barsakelmes Lake is a small, Salt lake, saline lake located between the Northern and Western Seas of the former unified Aral Sea. It is the last remainder of the Eastern basin of the former South Aral Sea. History Around the 2010s, Barsakelmes ...

Within the north-west edge of the desert used to be a river. In the late

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

, the Amu Darya used to flow beyond the Aral Basin to

Sarykamysh Lake Sarygamysh Lake, also Sarykamysh or Sary-Kamysh (, , , ), is the largest lake in Turkmenistan located about midway between the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea. A quarter of the lake's area is in Uzbekistan. The Sarykamysh basin and the Sarykamysh de ...

then to the Caspian Sea. Sedimentation and floods during a pluvial period led to overflow to the

Zeravshan River The Zarafshon is a river in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in Central Asia. Its name, "spreader of gold" in Persian, refers to the presence of gold-bearing sands in the upper reaches of the river. To the ancient Greeks it was known as the ''Polytime ...

valley to the east. The two flows merged and formed or expanded Horezm Lake, which had been formed by the earlier Khvalinian period, and as it overflowed northwards it carved its link with the Aral Sea along the Akcha Dar'ya population corridor of that low, gentle valley (a remote community of Western Uzbekistan and north-east Turkmenistan).

Environment

The sands of the Aral Karakum are made of finely-dispersed

evaporite An evaporite () is a water- soluble sedimentary mineral deposit that results from concentration and crystallization by evaporation from an aqueous solution. There are two types of evaporite deposits: marine, which can also be described as oce ...

s and remnants of alkaline mineral deposits, washed into the basin from irrigated fields.

Wildlife

Wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...

in this area is not very diverse and includes insects and arachnids such as

ants Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

termites Termites are a group of detritophagous eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, leaf litter, and soil humus. They are distinguished by their moniliform antennae and the sof ...

ticks Ticks are parasitic arachnids of the order Ixodida. They are part of the mite superorder Parasitiformes. Adult ticks are approximately 3 to 5 mm in length depending on age, sex, and species, but can become larger when engorged. Ticks a ...

spiders Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species di ...

dung beetles Dung beetles are beetles that feed on feces. All species of dung beetle belong to the superfamily Scarabaeoidea, most of them to the subfamilies Scarabaeinae and Aphodiinae of the family Scarabaeidae (scarab beetles). As most species of Scara ...

, and darkling beetles.

Lizards Lizard is the common name used for all squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The ...

turtles Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked turtle ...

and

snakes Snakes are elongated Limbless vertebrate, limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales much like other members of ...

also live in the Karakum. Bird species include ''

Alauda ''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species a ...

'', desert sparrows, and other species, while rodents include

jerboas Jerboas () are the members of the family Dipodidae. They are hopping desert rodents found throughout North Africa and Asia. They tend to live in hot deserts. When chased, jerboas can run at up to . Some species are preyed on by little owls (''A ...

and

gophers Pocket gophers, commonly referred to simply as gophers, are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. The roughly 41 speciesSearch results for "Geomyidae" on thASM Mammal Diversity Database are all endemic to North and Central America. They are ...

. The

tolai hare The tolai hare (''Lepus tolai'') is a species of hare native to Central Asia, Mongolia, and Northern and Central China. It inhabits semi-desert, steppes, rocky habitats, and forest meadows. It is relatively common, even in areas with heavy human ...

goitered gazelle The goitered gazelle (''Gazella subgutturosa'') or black-tailed gazelle is a gazelle native to Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran, parts of Iraq and Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and in nort ...

, and

corsac fox The corsac fox (''Vulpes corsac''), also known simply as a corsac, is a medium-sized fox found in steppes, semi-deserts and deserts in Central Asia, ranging into Mongolia and northern China. Since 2004, it has been classified as ''least concer ...

are examples of mammal species in the Karakum Desert.

Geology

The Karakum is home to the

Darvaza gas crater The Darvaza gas crater (), also known as the Door to Hell or Gates of Hell, officially, the Shining of Karakum, is a burning natural gas field collapsed into a cavern near Darvaza, Turkmenistan. Hundreds of natural gas fires illuminate the floo ...

. Also called the "Door to Hell" or the "Gates of Hell" by locals, it is a crater of natural gas that has been burning since 1971. The crater is a major tourist attraction, with hundreds of visitors arriving each year. The area has significant

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

and

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

deposits.

Hydrography

To the south the Murghab and

Tejen Tejen (older spellings: Tedzhen, Tejend, Tejent) is an oasis city in the Karakum Desert, in Ahal Province of Turkmenistan. It lies along the M37 highway, between Dushak and Mary, by road southeast of Ashgabat. It has a population of approxima ...

rivers flow out of the

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central Asia, Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and eastern Afghanistan into northwestern Pakistan and far southeastern Tajikistan. The range forms the wester ...

mountains, flow west, and empty into the desert, providing water for irrigation. The desert is crossed by the second-largest irrigation canal in the world, the

Karakum Canal The Karakum Canal (Qaraqum Canal, Kara Kum Canal, Garagum Canal; , ''Karakumskiy Kanal'', , , ) in Turkmenistan is one of the largest irrigation and water supply canals in the world. Started in 1954, and completed in 1988, it is navigable over ...

, which brings water from the Amu Darya to southern regions of the desert. Construction on the canal was started in 1954 and completed in 1958. It is in length, and carries 13 to 20 km³ of water annually.

Archaeology

Within the Karakum are the

Uly Balkan The Uly Balkan (, Greater Balkan Mountains), also the Great Balkhan or Greater Balkhan is a mountain range in Turkmenistan, part of the Balkhan Ranges. The highest summit is Mount Arlan at . References

{{reflist Mountain ranges of Asia M ...

, a mountain range in which archaeologists have found human remains dating back to the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

Economy and resources

The

oases In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

and

are noted for

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

growing.

Transport

The desert is crossed by the

Trans-Caspian Railway The Trans-Caspian Railway (also called the Central Asian Railway, ) is a railway that follows the path of the Silk Road through much of western Central Asia. It was built by the Russian Empire during its expansion into Central Asia in the 19t ...

Golden Age Lake

Golden Age Lake ''Golden Age Lake'', known as Altyn Asyr köli locally, alternatively as Karakum Lake, is a man-made lake under construction in the Karashor depression in the Karakum Desert of Turkmenistan. Upon completion, the lake will span with a maximum d ...

, locally known as Altyn Asyr köli or alternatively as Karakum Lake, is a man-made lake under construction in the Karashor Depression in the Karakum Desert. Upon completion, the lake will span with a maximum depth of , and hold more than 130 cubic kilometers (4600 billion cubic feet) of water. Filling the lake could take 15 years and cost up to $4.5 billion.Turkmenistan creates vast lake in the desert
/ref> According to government plans, it is intended to be filled by a network of tributary canals. The Dashoguz Collector, spanning a distance of 432 kilometers, traces approximately half of its course along the historic path of the

Uzboy River The Uzboy (sometimes spelled Uzboj) was a distributary of the Amu Darya river which flowed through the northwestern part of the Karakum Desert of Turkmenistan until the 17th century, when it abruptly dried up, eliminating the agricultural popul ...

. The Great Turkmen Collector starts in

Lebap Province Lebap Region () is one of the regions of Turkmenistan. It is in the northeast of the country, bordering Afghanistan, Uzbekistan along the Amu Darya. Its administrative centre is Türkmenabat (formerly named Çärjew). It has an area of 93,727 s ...

and is long. They are used for pumping run-off water from irrigated cotton fieldsTurkmenistan Vows to Water its Desert
/ref> towards the lake.

References

External links

Gonur Depe site in the Karakum Desertphotos and about the Karakum Desert

* {{Authority control Deserts of Central Asia Deserts of Kazakhstan Deserts of Turkmenistan Deserts of Uzbekistan Ergs Amu Darya