Kara Kum

 

(kär'ə kʊm') , two deserts, one in Kazakhstan and one in Turkmenistan. The Caspian Kara Kum or Garagum, the larger desert (c.115,000 sq mi/297,900 sq km), is W of the Amu Darya River and includes most of Turkmenistan. The Murghab and Tejen rivers flow out of the Hindu Kush Mts. to the south and empty into the desert, providing water for irrigation. The oases of Mary and Tejen are noted for cotton growing. The Kara Kum Canal carries water from the Amu Darya at Kelif westward across the desert to Mary and ultimately to Ashgabat, a distance of c.500 mi (800 km). The canal water permits irrigated agriculture (mainly cotton) and industry along the southern margin of the desert. The Trans-Caspian RR, a leading transportation artery of Central Asia, crosses the desert from Turkmenbashi (Krasnovodsk), on the Caspian Sea, to Ashgabat, Mary, Bukhara, and Tashkent. Natural gas deposits have been discovered at Derweze (Darvaza) and Mary. The Aral Kara Kum desert (c.15,440 sq mi/40,000 sq km) lies NE of the Aral Sea in Kazakhstan.

For the desert in Kazakhstan, see Aral Karakum.

The Karakum Desert, also spelled Kara-Kum and Gara Gum (“Black Sand”) (Turkmen: Garagum, Russian: Каракумы) is a desert in Central Asia. It occupies about 70 percent, or 350,000 km², of the area of Turkmenistan. The population is sparse, with an average of one person per 6.5 km² (one person per 2.5 sq miles).

Location

It lies east of the Caspian Sea, with the Aral Sea to the north and the Amu Darya river and the Kyzyl Kum desert to the northeast.

Hydrography

The Murghab and Tejen rivers flow out of the Hindu Kush Mountains to the south and empty into the desert, providing water for irrigation.

The desert is crossed by the largest irrigation canal in the world, the Qaraqum Canal. The canal was started in 1954, is 1,375 km in length, and carries 13-20 km³ of water annually. Unfortunately, leakages from the canal have created lakes and ponds along the canal and the rise in groundwater has caused widespread soil salination.

Economy and resources

The oases of Mary and Tejen are noted for cotton growing.

Geology

The Karakum Desert is home to the Darwasa Gas Craters.

The area has significant oil and natural gas deposits.

Transportation

The desert is crossed by the Trans-Caspian railway.

See also

• List of deserts by area

Deserts

Ad-Dahna · Alvord · Arabian · Aral Karakum · Atacama · Baja California · Barsuki · Betpak-Dala · Chalbi · Chihuahuan · Dasht-e Kavir · Dasht-e Lut · Dasht-e Margoh · Dasht-e Naomid · Gibson · Gobi · Great Basin · Great Sandy Desert · Great Victoria Desert · Kalahari · Karakum · Kyzylkum · Libyan · Little Sandy Desert · Mojave · Monte · Namib · Nefud · Negev · Nubian · Ordos · Owyhee · Patagonian · Qaidam · Registan · Rub' al Khali · Ryn-Peski · Sahara · Saryesik-Atyrau · Sechura · Simpson · Sonoran · Strzelecki · Syrian · Taklamakan · Tanami · Thar · Tihamah · Ustyurt

External links

• TravelBlog Darwasa Craters: Entrance to Hell

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