Garagum

Garagum, desert in Central Asia, occupying most of Turkmenistan; its name is Turkic for “black sands.” The desert covers about three-fourths of Turkmenistan. It extends from the Ustyurt plateau on the north to the Köpetdag Mountains on the south and from the Amu Darya river on the east nearly to the Caspian Sea on the west. The area of the Garagum is about 350,000 sq km (about 140,000 sq mi).

The Garagum consists chiefly of large expanses of hard-packed clay and rolling sand dunes. The terrain is generally devoid of vegetation. Certain species of steppe bushes and a few varieties of flowering plants grow in limited areas of the region, mainly in the southeast.

The desert is sparsely populated, mostly by Turkmens who farm in irrigated areas or fish on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Water from the Garagum Canal irrigates the southern and southeastern parts of the desert, where farmers grow cotton, fodder crops, fruits, and vegetables. Karakul sheep are raised for their wool. The Garagum has valuable deposits of natural gas and petroleum, and several pipelines cross the desert.