"than across it, and can be handled with certain precautions. Kumtag Desert The Kumtag Desert (, ""kum-tag"" meaning ""sand-mountain"" in a number of Turkic languages), is an arid landform in northwestern China, which was proclaimed as a national park in the year 2002. The oval Tarim Basin with its central Taklamakan Desert is bounded on the north, west and south by mountains. On the east side the Kumtag is an unbroken plain about 100 miles from north to south that runs from the Taklamakan to Gansu and Mongolia. Many modern maps do not show a Kumtag in this sense which"
"which may have been spoken by at least some of the local populace. Burrow's theory is widely accepted, but the evidence is meagre and inconclusive, and some scholars favour alternative explanations. The Taklamakan Desert is roughly oval in shape, about 1,000 km long and 400 km wide, surrounded on three sides by high mountains. The main part of the desert is sandy, surrounded by a belt of gravel desert. The desert is completely barren, but in the late spring the melting snows of the surrounding mountains feed streams, which have been altered by human activity to create oases with mild"
"plausible explanation suggests it is derived from Turki ""taqlar makan"", describing ""the place of ruins"". The Taklamakan Desert has an area of , making it slightly smaller than Germany, and includes the Tarim Basin, which is long and wide. It is crossed at its northern and at its southern edge by two branches of the Silk Road as travellers sought to avoid the arid wasteland. It is the world's second largest shifting sand desert with about 85% made up of shifting sand dunes ranking 16th in size in a ranking of the world's largest deserts. Some geographers and ecologists prefer"
"rain shadow of the Himalayas, Taklamakan is a paradigmatic cold desert climate. Given its relative proximity with the cold to frigid air masses in Siberia, extreme temperatures are recorded in wintertime, sometimes well below , while in summer they can rise up to . During the 2008 Chinese winter storms episode, the Taklamakan was reported to be covered, for the first time in its history, entirely with a thin layer of snow reaching , with a temperature of in some observatories. Its extreme inland position, virtually in the very heartland of Asia and thousands of kilometres from any open body"
"by Turkic peoples. Starting with the Han Dynasty, the Chinese sporadically extended their control to the oasis cities of the Taklamakan Desert in order to control the important silk route trade across Central Asia. Periods of Chinese rule were interspersed with rule by Turkic, Mongol and Tibetan peoples. The present population consists largely of Turkic Uyghur people and ethnic Han people. This desert was explored by several scientists such as Xuanzang, a monk in the 7th century and by the archaeologist Aurel Stein in the 20th century. Atmospheric studies have shown that dust originating from the Taklamakan is blown over"
"Dandan Oilik Dandan Oilik (), also Dandān-Uiliq, ""lit."" ""the houses with ivory"", is an abandoned historic oasis town and Buddhist site in the Taklamakan Desert of China, located to the northeast of Khotan in what is now the autonomous region of Xinjiang, between the Khotan and Keriya rivers. The central site covers an area of 4.5 km; the greater oasis extends over an area of 22 km. The site flourished from the sixth century as a site along the southern branch of the Silk Road until abandonment before the Tibetan advance at the end of the eighth century. Dandan Oilik"
"Karakum Desert The Karakum Desert, also spelled Kara-Kum and Gara-Gum (, ; ;), is a desert in Central Asia. Its name means ""Black Sand"" in Turkic languages, in reference to the dark soil that lies beneath the sandy surface of much of the desert. 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 square miles). Rainfall is also sparse, ranging from 70 to 150 mm per year. Covering much of present-day Turkmenistan, the Karakum Desert lies east of the"
"listed by State Administration of Cultural Heritage as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level. Dandan Oilik Dandan Oilik (), also Dandān-Uiliq, ""lit."" ""the houses with ivory"", is an abandoned historic oasis town and Buddhist site in the Taklamakan Desert of China, located to the northeast of Khotan in what is now the autonomous region of Xinjiang, between the Khotan and Keriya rivers. The central site covers an area of 4.5 km; the greater oasis extends over an area of 22 km. The site flourished from the sixth century as a site along the southern branch"
"the Pacific, where it contributes to cloud formation over the Western United States. Studies have shown that a specific class of mineral found in the dust, known as K-feldspar, triggers ice formation particularly well. K-feldspar is particularly susceptible to corrosion by acidic atmospheric pollution such as nitrates and phosphates. Exposure to these constituents reduces the ability of the dust to trigger water droplet formation. Further, the traveling dust redistributes minerals from the Taklamakan to the western U.S.A. via rainfall. The desert is the main setting for Chinese film series ""Painted Skin"" and """". The Chinese TV series ""Candle in the"
"caught in the bombing of Berlin by the Allies. Other pieces may now be found in various museums around the world, such as the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Tokyo National Museum in Japan, the British Museum in London, and the national museums of Korea and India. A digital recreation of the Bezeklik murals removed by explorers was shown in Japan. Bezeklik Caves The Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves () is a complex of Buddhist cave grottos dating from the 5th to 14th century between the cities of Turpan and Shanshan (Loulan) at the north-east of the Taklamakan Desert near the"
"Kyzylkum Desert The Kyzylkum Desert (, قىزىلقۇم; , قىزىلقۇم, ) is the 16th largest desert in the world. Its name means ""Red Sand"" in Turkic languages. It is located in Central Asia in the doab between the rivers Amu Darya and Syr Darya, a region historically known as Transoxania or Sogdiana. Today it is divided between Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. It covers about . The territory consists mainly of an extensive plain at an altitude up to above sea level, with a number of depressions and highlands (Sultanuizdag, Bukantau). Most of the area is covered with dunes (barchans); in the"
"importance to the national economy and played an important role in calming the raging floodwaters of 1992, which devastated large areas in the northern highlands and the Punjab plains. Cholistan Desert The Cholistan desert spans an area of 16,000 square kilometers. The name ""Cholistan"" is derived from the Turkish word ""chol,"" meaning ""desert,"" though the desert is locally known as Rohi. The desert hosts an annual jeep rally, which draws many tourists. Indus Valley Desert The Indus Valley Desert is located in the northern area of Pakistan. The desert spans an area of 19,500 square kilometers and is surrounded by"
"wildlife in the region. The whole of this region is swept bare of sand by the terrific sand storms (""burãns"") of the spring months and the particles of wind-blown sand act like a sand blast. Abrasion of the rocks forms yardangs. The desert itself is abraded, filed, eroded and carried bodily away into the network of lakes in which the Tarim River wanders. The sand also blows across the lower, constantly shifting waterways of the Tarim River and deposits itself onto gigantic dunes that choke the eastern end of the Taklamakan Desert. The extreme weather and ever moving sand dunes"
"Desert. There he discovered, among others, a heretofore-unknown settlement, dating from approximately 100 B.C. – 400 A.D. In 2009, he led the Fifth International Taklamakan Expedition into the unexplored ancient delta of the River Keriya in the centre of the desert, and discovered two unknown graveyards: Satma Mazar (Iron Age) and Ayala Mazar (Bronze Age). Further expeditions took Baumer to southern Tibet in 1996, where he discovered in the former monastery Serkar Guthok hitherto unknown murals from the early 12th century; and in 1997 again to southern Tibet, where he discovered in the Pa-Lha-Puk Monastery the oldest existing murals of"
"the year. Prior to construction of the Tarim Desert Highway in 1995, the Hotan river bed provided the only transportation system across the Tarim Basin. Hotan River The Hotan River (formerly known as the Khotan River or the Ho-t'ien River) is formed by the union of the White Jade (Yurungkash) and Black Jade (Karakash) Rivers, which flow north from the Kunlun Mountains into the Taklamakan Desert in northern China. The two rivers unite towards the middle of the desert, some north of the town of Hotan. The river then flows northwards across the desert and empties itself into the Tarim"
"Turan Depression The Turan Depression, Turan Lowland or Turanian Basin is a low-lying desert basin region stretching from southern Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan. The lowland region lies to the east of the Caspian Sea and southeast of the Aral Sea in the vast Aral–Caspian Depression but extends to parts above sea level as well. It is one of the largest expanses of sand in the world. On average, the region receives less than 15 inches (381mm) of rainfall per year. The Kara Kum desert lies at the southern portion of the Turan Lowlands. Three of the largest cities in"
"Taklamakan desert. They discovered important documents and works of art (including a magnificent wall-painting of Mani, the founder of Manichaeism) and the remains of a Nestorian (Christian) church near ancient Khocho (Qara-khoja or Gaochang), a ruined ancient city, built of mud, east of Turfan. Turfan (also Uigur Turpan, Chin. Tulufan) is in Xinjiang (Chinese Turkestan) on the northern Silk Road. It has an area of between 42° and 43° north latitude and between 88° and 90° east longitude in a depression below sea level. This is the archaeological site to which expeditions were mounted by Germans to explore and collect"
"cross the length of the Taklamakan Desert from west to east. The journey will take approximately 10 weeks and cover 1000 km of terrain with altitudes of 1500m and shifting dunes of 450m in height. The Taklamakan Anglo-Chinese Expedition will provide an international opportunity to further the interest and understanding of OBOR One Belt One Road initiative. Stancer is an honorary board member for the charity Special Olympics GB, which seeks to provide sports training and competition in a variety of Olympic-style events for people with learning disabilities. Stancer's expeditions also have relevance to the wider community as she gathers"
"Lake Turkana Lake Turkana (), formerly known as Lake Rudolf, is a lake in the Kenyan Rift Valley, in northern Kenya, with its far northern end crossing into Ethiopia. It is the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake. By volume it is the world's fourth-largest salt lake after the Caspian Sea, Issyk-Kul, and Lake Van (passing the shrinking South Aral Sea), and among all lakes it ranks 24th. Lake Turkana is now threatened by the construction of Gilgel Gibe III Dam in Ethiopia due to the damming of the Omo river which supplies most of"
"Kumtag Desert is a section of the Taklamakan Desert which lies east-southeast of the Desert of Lop. It is on the other side of the Kara-koshun and reaches north-eastwards as far as the vicinity of the town of Sa-chow and the lake of Kara-nor, or Kala-chi. It is bordered by Dunhuang in the east, Tian Shan in the north, and with an area of 22,800+ square kilometers. Its southern rim is marked by a labyrinth of hills, dotted in groups and irregular clusters,worn down as it were to mere fragments of their former skeletal structure. Between these and the Altyn-Tagh,"
"of water birds and serious damage to the Persian Gulf's aquatic ecosystem, particularly shrimp, sea turtles, dugongs, whales, dolphins and fish. The damaged wells also released 10 million m³ (60 million barrels) of oil into the desert and formed lakes (total surface of 49 square kilometers). Arabian Desert The Arabian Desert is a vast desert wilderness in Western Asia. It stretches from Yemen to the Persian Gulf and Oman to Jordan and Iraq. It occupies most of the Arabian Peninsula, with an area of . It is the fourth largest desert in the world, and the largest in Asia. At"
"basins and desert areas vegetated with Chinese tamarisk (""Tamarix chinensis""), brush, or poplar (""Populus""), along the peripheries of rivers that surround the mountains in the Taklamakan Desert. This distribution of the Yarkand hare is ring shaped. It also uses reed vegetation along rivers for shelter, and tends to avoid agricultural fields. About 200,000 individuals are estimated to inhabit the Tarim Basin. However, in 2010 Y.H. Wu of the Chinese Academy of Science flatly writes that the species is ""endangered"" due primarily to its fragmented and isolated islands of population. As Professor Wu wrote:The Yarkland hare is an endangered species. ..."
"in the eastern part of the country. Crop failures have deprived about 48,000 people of their main source of income and shortages of potable water have created a surge of infectious diseases. Karakalpakstan is now mostly desert and is located in western Uzbekistan near the Aral Sea, in the lowest part of the Amu Darya basin. It has an area of 164,900 km² and is surrounded by desert. The Kyzyl Kum desert is located to the east and the Karakum Desert is located to the south. A rocky plateau extends west to the Caspian Sea. The Republic of Karakalpakstan is"
"Nations, UNESCO, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the Science for Peace program. Area: <br>""total:"" 447,400 km² <br>""land:"" 425,400 km² <br>""water:"" 22,000 km² Area – comparative: slightly larger than California, same size as Morocco, slightly smaller than Sweden Land boundaries: <br>""total:"" 6,221 km <br>""border countries:"" Afghanistan 137 km, Kazakhstan 2,203 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,099 km, Tajikistan 1,161 km, Turkmenistan 1,621 km Coastline: 0 km <br>""note:"" Uzbekistan includes the southern portion of the Aral Sea with a 420 km shoreline. Maritime claims: None. Uzbekistan is one of only two countries (Liechtenstein) in the world that are"
"Merket in order to cross the Taklamakan Desert via Tusluk to the Khotan River. Since their water supply was insufficient, seven camels died of thirst, as did two of his escorts (according to Hedin's dramatized and probably inaccurate account). Bruno Baumann traveled on this route in April 2000 with a camel caravan and ascertained that at least one of the escorts who, according to Hedin, had died of thirst had survived, and that it is impossible for a camel caravan traveling in springtime on this route to carry enough drinking water for both camels and travelers. According to other sources,"
"Arabian Desert The Arabian Desert is a vast desert wilderness in Western Asia. It stretches from Yemen to the Persian Gulf and Oman to Jordan and Iraq. It occupies most of the Arabian Peninsula, with an area of . It is the fourth largest desert in the world, and the largest in Asia. At its center is the Rub'al-Khali, one of the largest continuous bodies of sand in the world. Gazelles, oryx, sand cats, and spiny-tailed lizards are just some of the desert-adapted species that survive in this extreme environment, which features everything from red dunes to deadly quicksand. The"
"Rawak Stupa Rawak is a Buddhist stupa located on the southern rim of the Taklamakan Desert in China, along the famous trade route known as the Silk Road in the first millennium Kingdom of Khotan. Around the stupa there are other smaller structures which were originally decorated with a large number of colossal statues. The courtyard of the temple was surrounded by a wall, which contained terracotta relieves and some wall-paintings. The stupa and other structures form a three-dimensional mandala. The site is now about 40 km north of the modern city of Hotan (Chinese: 和田) in Xinjiang Autonomous Region"
"379 km). Turkmenistan is slightly larger than California in territory, occupying 488,100 km². By area Turkmenistan ranks fourth among the former Soviet republics, after Russia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine. The country's greatest extent from west to east is 1,100 km, and its greatest north-to-south distance is 650 km. Terrain: flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west. Depressions along the Karakum Desert may be found. Elevation extremes: Turkmenistan's average elevation is 100 to 220 meters above sea level, with its highest point being Mount Aýrybaba (3,139 m)"
"sediments and is bordered by massive mountain ranges. The basin is the driest region of Eurasia. The predominant part of it is occupied by the Taklamakan Desert, whose sand area exceeds . In addition, there are several comparatively small sand massifs with areas of from . Sand dunes are the predominant relief. Precipitation in the Tarim Basin is extremely scant, and in some years it is nonexistent. In the Taklamakan Desert and in the Lop Nur basin, the average annual total of precipitation is about . In the foothills and in several other areas of the river's basin, the precipitation"
"of Lake Balkhash, where it forms a large delta of about . The delta is situated between the Saryesik-Atyrau Desert and the Taukum Desert. An area of 9,766 km (3,771 sq mi) within the delta has been designated as a Ramsar Site. This site has 427 species of plants and 345 species of animals, including important populations of rare species (Dalmatian pelican, goitered gazelle, marbeled polecat, white-headed duck, red-breasted goose, ship sturgeon, and others). The delta has also become popular amongst anglers for its Wels catfish, which can grow up to . The Government of Kazakhstan plans to join the"
"covers approximately 1,500 km² over the district (""kecamatan"") of Padangbolak in South Tapanuli, and in Padang Lawas and North Padang Lawas regencies. The village of Batu Gana in Padangbolak Julu district is the location of a burial site consisting of a megalithic structure. In the village of Padang Bujur in the same district, one can also find megalithic remains and what seems to be the base for a padmasana. Other megalithic remains are found at Aek Korsik and Aek Tolong Huta, also in the Padangbolak district. The critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan lives in the region. It was described as a"
"Balkan Region Balkan Region (, ""Балкан велаяты"", بلقان ولايتى) is one of the regions of Turkmenistan. It is in the far west of the country, bordering Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, and Iran. Its capital is Balkanabat, formerly known as Nebit Dag. Balkan is Turkish for ""Wooded mountain"". It has an area of 139,270 square kilometers and a population of approximately 553,500 people (2005 est.). Its population density of 3.3 persons per square kilometer is the lowest in Turkmenistan. Other cities include: Bereket, Türkmenbaşy, Gumdag, Serdar, Hazar, Etrek, Esenguly. The Balkan Region has significant energy reserves, which account for 94%"
"of the danger of DDT, have reportedly mixed the pesticide with water and applied it to their faces to keep away mosquitoes. In the late 1980s, a drive began in Central Asia to reduce agrochemical usage. In Turkmenistan the campaign reduced fertilizer use 30% between 1988 and 1989. In the early 1990s, use of some pesticides and defoliants declined drastically because of the country's shortage of hard currency. Area: <br>""total:"" 488,100 km² <br>""land:"" 469,930 km² <br>""water:"" 18,170 km² Area - comparative: slightly larger than California Land boundaries: <br>""total:"" 3,736 km <br>""border countries:"" Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379"