Sarykum or Sary-Kum (, , meaning "Yellow sand") is a large

sand dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

located in the

Kumtorkalinsky District Kumtorkalinsky District (, , ''Xumtorqali yaq'') is an administrativeLaw #16 and municipalLaw #6 district (raion), one of the forty-one in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia. It is located in the east of the republic. The area of the district is . ...

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. It is one of the largest sand dunes in Eurasia. The dune is located in a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

, part of the

Dagestan Nature Reserve Dagestan Nature Reserve () (also Dagestansky) is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict nature reserve) that protects an area of sand dunes and ridges on the northwest coast of the Caspian Sea in the southeast of European Russia. The reserve, a wintering ...

, which was established on 9 January 1987.

Geography

The dune rises about northwest of

Makhachkala Makhachkala, previously known as Petrovskoye (1844–1857) and Port-Petrovsk (1857–1921), or by the local Kumyk language, Kumyk name of Anji, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Dagestan, Russia. ...

. Sarykum is the highest dune of the Sarykumskye Barchany () dune area, which extends below the northern slopes of the Narat-Tyube Range (). The Sarykum dune is very old. Measuring approximately in length, with an area of , the height of the highest summit may vary between and .

Flora

The Sarykum area is a refuge for

desert flora 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 ...

in the region. There are up to 279 species of rare plants, including several which are endemic, such as ''

Iris acutiloba ''Iris acutiloba'' is a species in the genus '' Iris'', it is also in the subgenus of '' Iris'' and section ''Oncocyclus''. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from the mountains of the Caucasus and found in Turkey, Armenia Armenia, officially ...

'', Shishkin's groundsel (''

Senecio schischkinii ''Senecio'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae) that includes ragworts and groundsels. Variously circumscribed taxonomically, the genus ''Senecio'' is one of the largest genera of flowering plants. Description Mor ...

''), '' Karakugen milkvetch'', '' Astragalus karakugensis'' and '' Colchicum laetum''.Münir Öztürk, Khalid Rehman Hakeem, I. Faridah-Hanum and Recep Efe (Editor)

References

External links

*
Sarykum Sand Dune on Vimeo
{{Deserts Landforms of Dagestan Dunes of Russia