Landscapes of Turkmenistan

Abstract

Lowland and mountainous desert landscapes of Turkmenistan are described, including the following regions of the republic: the Kopetdagh Mouintains with their northern submontane plain, the isolated Bolshoi Balkhan and Maly Balkhan Mountains, the Ustyurt Plateau (its part within Turkmenistan), the Krasnovodsk Peninsula, the Cis-Caspian Lowland, western sands of Chilmamed and Uchtagan, the Sarykamysh-Khwarazm Lowland, the Uzboi dry valley, the Karakum Desert, the area between the Tedzhen and Murghab Rivers, the Badghyz and Karabil Plateaus, the Amudarya River Valley, and the Kugitangtau Mountains. Landscape structure is determined by a complicated geological history and modern, extremely arid climate. The description of natural hydrographic network is given; the most important rivers are the Amudarya, Tedzhen, and Murghab. Ten lithoedaphic types of deserts are identified within Turkmenistan. Thirteen ecological regions are separated according to their physical-geographical features, climate, and potential for agricultural development.