Kyzyl Kum

The Kyzyl Kum ( _uz. Qizilqum, _kk. Қызылқұм), also called Qyzylqum, is the 11th largest desert in the world. Its name means "red sand" in both Uzbek and Kazakh. It is located in Central Asia in the doab between the rivers Amu Darya and Syr Darya, and is divided between Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and (partly) Turkmenistan. It covers about 298,000 km² (approximately 115,000 sq mi).

Geography

The territory consists mainly of an extensive plain at an altitude up to 300 m (about 1000 feet) above sea level, with a number of the depressions and highlands (Sultanuizdag, Bukantau). Most of the area is covered with sand-dunes (barchans); in the North-West large areas are covered with takirs (clay coatings); there are also some oases. There are agricultural settlements along the rivers and in the oases.

Fauna

Desert fauna include occasinal winter migrant in the northern part of the desert the Saiga Antelope ("Saiga tatarica") and a large lizard Desert or Transcaspian Monitor (Varanus griseus) that can reach lengths of 1.6 m (5 ft). There is a Kyzyl Kum nature reserve in Bukhara Province, founded in 1971. The area of the reserve amounts to 101,000 km² (approximately 39,000 sq mi) and it is located on flood-land (tugai) drained by the Amu-Darya close to the settlement Dargan Ata. Fauna include: the Bukhara Deer (a local species of "Cervus elaphus"), Wild Boar ("Sus scrofa"), Common Pheasant ("Phasianus colchicus"), Golden Eagle ("Aquila chrysaetus") etc.

Another reserve (or eco-centre), "Djeyran", is located 40 km to the south of Bukhara. The total area of this reserve is 51,450 km² (approximately 20,000 sq mi). It is a breeding centre for rare animals such as: the Goitered or Persian Gazelle Gazelle ("Djeyran", "Gazella subgutturosa"), Przewalski's Horse ("Equus przewalskii"), the Koulan (Onager, "Equus hemionus") and Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis undulata). The reserve was founded in 1977 on the enclosed area in 5,131 ha.

Economy

The local population uses the large spaces of the Kyzyl Kum as a pasture for livestock (mostly sheep, Bactrian Camels and dromedaries).

The Kyzyl Kum is well known for its deposits of gold, uranium, copper, aluminium and silver, natural gas and oil. The development of most the famous gold-field at Muruntau began in the early 1970s. The centres for the mining and smelting industry at the region are Navoi, Zarafshan city, Uchkuduk. The major industrial enterprises are: НГМК (Navoi Mining and Smelting Complex) and the Uzbek U.S.A. Joint Venture "Zarafshan-Newmont". The centres of the gas-production industry are Gazli and Mubarek.

Photo-gallery

ee also

* Karakum Desert, another desert of Central Asia
* Andronovo culture
* The Aydar Lake, large artificial lake
* Sarmishsay,ancient monuments of anthropogenic activity
* List of deserts by area

External links

* More [http://camp4joy.org/CampClipart.htm photos of Uzbekistan] [http://camp4joy.org/ClipartNa.htm Nature] [http://camp4joy.org/ClipartOth.htm Environment]
* [http://www.pagetour.narod.ru/uzb/Qyzylqum_1.htm Qyzylqum photos]