Geography of Turkmenistan

Terrain of Turkmenistan consists of a flat-to-rolling sandy desert, the Karakum, with its dunes slowly rising to the south; by the time they reach the border with Iran, they become the mountains known as the Kopet Dag. The Caspian Sea washes the western shores of this mostly arid country. Turkmenistan's average elevation is above sea level, with its highest point being Mount Aýrybaba () in the Köýtendag Range of the Pamir-Alay chain in the south-east, and its lowest point being the Akjagaýa Depression in Sarygamysh Lake, close to below sea level (the actual water level in Sarygamysh Lake fluctuates widely from –110 m at its shallowest to –60 m (). Mount Arlan rises sharply above sea level in the Great Balkan Range in western Turkmenistan (Balkan Province), and has a topographical prominence only slightly shorter than its height. 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 of the northern reaches of the Kopet Dag Range, which it shares with Iran. The Kopet Dag Range is a region characterized by foothills, dry and sandy slopes, mountain plateaus, and steep ravines; Mount Şahşah (), also known as Mount Rizeh, southwest of Ashgabat, is the highest elevation of the Kopet Dag 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. The Krasnovodsk and Üstýurt 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 . Shifting winds create desert mountains that range from in height and may be several kilometers 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 Garaşor, which occupies in the northwest. The Sandykly Desert west of the Amu Darya river is the southernmost extremity of the Qizilqum Desert, most of which lies in Uzbekistan to the northeast. ==Climate==

Turkmenistan has a cold desert climate that is severely continental. Examples {{Weather box {{Weather box 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 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 . Other major rivers are the Tejen (); the Murgab (); and the Atrek (). ==Environmental issues==

Background Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, environmental regulation is largely unchanged in Turkmenistan. ==Area and boundaries==

;Area: :*total: :**country rank in the world: 52nd :*land: :*water: ;Area — comparative: :* slightly larger than Cameroon :* Australia comparative: slightly less than half the size of South Australia :* Canada comparative: slightly larger than the Yukon :* United Kingdom comparative: approximately twice the size of the United Kingdom :* United States comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Wyoming :* EU comparative: slightly smaller than Spain ;Land boundaries: :*total: :**border countries: Afghanistan , Iran , Kazakhstan , Uzbekistan ;Coastline: :*0 km :**Note: Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea. Its coastline with the Caspian Sea is . ;Maritime claims: : Border disputes with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Iran ==Resources==

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt Land use: arable land: 3.89% permanent crops: 0.12% other: 95.98% (2011) Irrigated land: (2006) Total renewable water resources: (2011) == References ==