Karakum Desert

desert in Turkmenistan

AI overview

The Karakum Desert is a large desert located in Turkmenistan in Central Asia. It is one of the world's largest deserts and plays an important role in the region's geography and climate.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

In the Vinony graph

Within Vinony's link graph, Karakum Desert is referenced by 324 other articles, and connects out to Kyzyl Kum, Darvaza gas crater and Aralkum.

The entry is geolocated on the map.

It is catalogued under topics including Amu Darya, Deserts of Central Asia and Deserts of Kazakhstan.

Its subject is documented across 87 Wikipedia language editions.

Wikidata facts

Instance of: desert
Country: Soviet Union
Located in: Turkmenistan
Continent: Asia
Area: 400000
Shares border with: Caspian Sea
Image: MAKarakum6.jpg

Show 4 more facts

Commons category: Karakum
different from: Aral Karakum
Köppen climate classification: desert climate
native label: Garagum

Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

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Encyclopedic overview

The Karakum Desert (/ˈkærəkʌm/ KARR-ə-kum; Russian: Каракумы, IPA: [kərɐˈkumɨ]), also spelt Qaraqum and Garagum (Turkmen: [ɢɑɾɑˈʁʊm]; lit. 'Black Sand'), is the 12th largest desert in the world, located in Central Asia. The name refers to the shale-rich sand beneath the surface. It occupies about 70 percent, or roughly 350,000 km (140,000 sq mi), of Turkmenistan.

The population is sparse, with an average of one person per 6.5 km (2.5 sq mi). Rainfall is also rare, ranging from 70 to 150 mm (3 to 6 in) per year.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Karakum Desert” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.