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Karakum Desert

#11 in World

Turkmenistan

1 / 4
© David StanleyCC BY 2.0
Area
350K km²
Coordinates
40.0000, 60.0000
Category
deserts

Overview

One of the world's largest sand deserts, home to the Darvaza gas crater.

About

The Karakum Desert, also spelt Qaraqum and Garagum, is the 12th largest desert in the world, located in Central Asia. The name refers to the shale-rich sand beneath the surface. It occupies about 70 percent, or roughly 350,000 km2 (140,000 sq mi), of Turkmenistan.

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More about Karakum Desert

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Karakum Desert, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Read full article