Geography
Turkmenistan is a landlocked country of Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan. It is the southernmost republic of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the loose federation created at the end of 1991 by most of the post-Soviet states. At 488,100 sq km, (188,457 sq mi), Turkmenistan is the world's 52nd-largest country; it is comparable in size to Cameroon, and approximately twice the size of the UK. The country's greatest extent from west to east is 1,100 km, and its greatest north-to-south distance is 650 km.
Its longest border is with the Caspian Sea (1,786 km). The other borders are with Iran (to the south, 992 km), Afghanistan (to the south, 744 km), Uzbekistan (to the north and east, 1,621 km) and Kazakhstan (to the north, 379 km). Although bordering the Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan is not considered to have a coastline because the sea is entirely landlocked.
Over 80% of the country is covered by the Karakum Desert. The centre of the country is dominated by Turan Depression and the Karakum Desert which are mostly flatlands. The Kopet Dag Range, along the southwestern border, reaches 2,912 metres (9,553 ft). The Turkmen Balkan Mountains in the far west and the Kugitang Range in the far east are the only other appreciable elevations. Rivers include the Amu Darya, the Murghab, and the Hari Rud.
Main cities include Turkmenbasy (formerly Krasnovodsk) and Dasoguz.
Elevation Extremes
- Highest point: Ayrybaba: 3,139 metres.
- Lowest point: Vpadina Akchanaya: -81 metres (note: Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in north eastern Turkmenistan whose water levels fluctuate widely; at its shallowest, its level is -110 m; it is presently at -60 m, 20 m above Vpadina Akchanaya).
Physical Features
Turkmenistan's average elevation is 100 to 220 metres above sea level, with its highest point being Mount Ayrybaba (3,137 metres) in the Kugitang Range of the Pamir-Alay chain in the far east, and its lowest point in the Transcaspian Depression (81 metres below sea level). The Gora Ardan rises sharply above sea level in western Turkmenistan. Nearly 80% of the republic lies within the Turan Depression, which slopes from south to north and from east to west.
Turkmenistan's mountains include 600 km of the northern reaches of the Kopet Dag Range, which it shares with Iran. The Kopet Dag Range is a region characterised by foothills, dry and sandy slopes, mountain plateaus, and steep ravines; Mount Shahshah (2,912 metres), southwest of Ashgabat, is the highest elevation of the range in Turkmenistan. The Kopet Dag is undergoing tectonic transformation, meaning that the region is threatened by earthquakes such as the one that destroyed Ashgabat in 1948 and registered nine on the Richter scale. The Krasnovodsk and Ustirt plateaus are the prominent topographical features of northwestern Turkmenistan.
A dominant feature of the republic's landscape is the Garagum Desert (also known as Karakum), which occupies about 350,000 square kilometres. Shifting winds create desert mountains that range from 2-20 metres in height and may be several kilometres in length. Chains of such structures are common, as are steep elevations and smooth, concrete-like clay deposits formed by the rapid evaporation of flood waters in the same area for a number of years. Large marshy salt flats, formed by capillary action in the soil, exist in many depressions, including the Kara Shor, which occupies 1,500 square kilometres in the northwest. The Sundukly Desert west of the Amu Darya river is the southernmost extremity of the Qizilqum Desert, most of which lies in Uzbekistan to the northeast.
Hydrological Conditions
Almost 80% of the territory of Turkmenistan lacks a constant source of surface water flow. Its main rivers are located only in the southern and eastern peripheries; a few smaller rivers on the northern slopes of the Kopetdag are diverted entirely to irrigation. The most important river is the Amu Darya, which has a total length of 2,540 km from its farthest tributary, making it the longest river in Central Asia. The Amu Darya flows across northeastern Turkmenistan, thence eastward to form the southern borders of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Damming and irrigation uses of the Amu Darya have had severe environmental effects on the Aral Sea, into which the river flows. The river's average annual flow is 1,940 cubic metres per second. Other major rivers are the Tejen (1,124 km); the Murgap (852 km); and the Atrek (660 km).