# Turan Depression

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Turan_Depression
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Turan_Depression.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turan_Depression
> Source revision: 1354128408
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Low-lying desert basin in Central Asia}}
{{Distinguish|Turpan Depression}}
{{about||the historical region|Turan}}
{{Expand Swedish|topic=geo|date=March 2022}}
thumb|Turan Depression (area enclosed by orange line)
The '''Turan Depression''', '''Turan Lowland''' or '''Turanian Basin''' is a [low-lying](/source/lowland) [desert](/source/desert) [basin](/source/Depression_(geology)) region stretching from southern [Turkmenistan](/source/Turkmenistan) through [Uzbekistan](/source/Uzbekistan) to [Kazakhstan](/source/Kazakhstan).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ti53BwAAQBAJ&dq=D%C3%A9pression+de+Touran+Kazakhstan&pg=PT2365 |title=Dictionnaire de biogéographie végétale |date=5 March 2015 |trans-title=Dictionary of plant biogeography |editor-first1=Georges |editor-last1=Métailie |editor-first2=Antoine |editor-last2=Da Lage |edition=Nouvelle |publisher=CNRS EDITIONS |language=fr |isbn=978-2271083289}}</ref>

==Geography==
The [lowland](/source/lowland) region lies to the east of the [Caspian Sea](/source/Caspian_Sea) and southeast of the [Aral Sea](/source/Aral_Sea) in the vast [Aral–Caspian Depression](/source/Aral%E2%80%93Caspian_Depression) but extends to parts above sea level as well. It is one of the largest expanses of sand in the world,<ref>{{cite book|author-last=Caroe |author-first=Olaf |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/862273470 |title=Soviet Empire: The Turks of Central Asia and Stalinism |date=1953 |publisher=[Macmillan](/source/Palgrave_Macmillan) |chapter=The Turanian Basin |oclc=862273470}}</ref> covering an area of around 3 million km<sup>2</sup>.<ref name="bse">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://bse.sci-lib.com/article112867.html |encyclopedia=[Great Soviet Encyclopedia](/source/Great_Soviet_Encyclopedia) |title=Туранская низменность |trans-title=Turan lowland |volume=26 |pages=320 |language=ru}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=March 2023}} On average, the region receives less than {{convert|15|in|mm}} of [rainfall](/source/rainfall) per year. The [Karakum](/source/Karakum_Desert) desert lies at the southern portion of the Turan Lowlands.

The part of the depression adjacent to the Aral Sea is drainless. It includes a network of temporary streams usually ending in ''[sor](/source/Sor_(geomorphology))'' [salt flat](/source/Salt_pan_(geology))s, which seasonally become [salt lake](/source/salt_lake)s.<ref>Sania Beisenbaeva, ''Description of the forecast of spring flood volume of the Ilek River'',</ref>

Three of the largest cities in the Turan Depression are [Daşoguz](/source/Da%C5%9Foguz) in [Turkmenistan](/source/Turkmenistan), [Nukus](/source/Nukus) in [Uzbekistan](/source/Uzbekistan), and [Urganch](/source/Urganch), also in Uzbekistan. [Akjagaýa](/source/Akjaga%C3%BDa) in Turkmenistan is {{convert|267|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} below [sea level](/source/sea_level). The [Amu Darya](/source/Amu_Darya) River runs in a southeast–north-westerly direction through the lowlands.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Turán|volume=19 |encyclopedia=Gran Enciclopedia Ilustrada |language=es |publisher=Ediciones Danae, S.A. |isbn=84-7505-292-4}}</ref>

In the [Pliocene](/source/Pliocene) and [Pleistocene](/source/Pleistocene), the territory of the modern Turan depression was the bottom of the vast Turan Sea, which was divided into the modern [Caspian](/source/Caspian_Sea) and [Aral seas](/source/Aral_Sea) about ten thousand years ago.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.poteplenie.ru/doc/karn-golfst5.htm |author-first1=A. V. |author-last1=Karnaukhov |author-first2=V. N. |author-last2=Karnaukhov |title=Новая модель оледенений в Северном полушарии |trans-title=A new model of glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere |language=ru |url-status=dead |access-date=13 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121135137/http://poteplenie.ru/doc/karn-golfst5.htm |archive-date=21 November 2010}}</ref>

==See also==
*[Kazakh semi-desert](/source/Kazakh_semi-desert)
*[Turgay Depression](/source/Turgay_Depression)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{coord|41.8333|N|59.9667|E|source:kolossus-eswiki|display=title}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Depressions of Kazakhstan
Category:Depressions of Turkmenistan
Category:Depressions of Uzbekistan
Category:Depressions (geology)
Category:Endorheic basins of Asia

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Turan Depression](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turan_Depression) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turan_Depression?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.