Gumdag (romanized Russian Kum Dag) is a town in

Balkan Province Balkan Region () is the westernmost of the five regions of Turkmenistan. Clockwise from north it borders Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan (north); two provinces of Turkmenistan (east), Iran (south), and the Caspian Sea (west). The capital city is Balkana ...

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 ...

. It is located 43 km southeast of the city of

Balkanabat Balkanabat (), formerly Nebit-Dag and Neftedag, is the administrative centre of Balkan Province, the largest province in Turkmenistan. It lies at the foot of the Balkan Daglary mountain range. Balkanabat is about 450 km west of Ashgabat a ...

. To the south-east of the town, lies the Boyadag Mud Volcano.

Etymology

The name is derived from two words in Turkmen, ''gum'' ("sand") and ''dag'' ("mountain, hill"). Atanyyazow postulates that the name came from the sand hill 3 km to the west where the first oil well in the area was drilled.

Economy

The town is home to the Gumdag oil and gas field, which is the main driver of the local economy.

History

Before Gumdag was established, the settlement was called Hudaý-Dag, Bahangoşa and Monjuklu. Gumdag was founded as a village in the 1930s by nomadic families from nearby settlements. In the same years, a well-drilling machine was installed by the government on the sand hill 3 km west of the village. With the development of oil production from the region, people from Balkanabat and other cities started to flock here. From 1951 to 1956, it was attached to the

Ashgabat Ashgabat (Turkmen language, Turkmen: ''Aşgabat'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies between the Karakum Desert and the Kopet Dag, Kopetdag mountain range in Central Asia, approximately 50 km (30 ...

region. It used to be a city-with-district-status until November 2022, and alongside

Hazar Hazar may refer to: People * Hazar (name), including a list of people with the name Places * Hazar, Turkmenistan * Hazaran, or Hazar, a mountain in Iran * Hesaruiyeh, or Hazar, Iran * Lake Hazar, Turkey * Hazar, Norway See also * Hezar (disa ...

, it became subordinate to City of

Population

References

Populated places in Balkan Region {{Turkmenistan-geo-stub