| Geography and Climate |
Turkmenistán is located in Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan. Area - comparative: slightly larger than California. Total land boundary is 3,736 km,
border countries are Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km.
Climate is subtropical desert. Terrain consists of flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west.
Elevation extreme has the lowest point in Sarygamysh Koli -110 m and highest point in Ayrybaba 3,139 m. Natural resources are petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulfur, salt. Land use: arable land: 3%, permanent crops: 0%, permanent pastures: 63%, forests and woodland: 8%, other: 26% (1993 est.). Irrigated land: 13,000 sq km (1993 est.).
Environment—current issues: contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals, pesticides; salinization, water-logging of soil due to poor irrigation methods; Caspian Sea pollution; diversion of a large share of the flow of the Amu Darya into irrigation contributes to that river's inability to replenish the Aral Sea; desertification.
Ref. Anonymous, 1999 |