The Cheleken Peninsula (russian: Челекен полуостров) is a peninsula located in western

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the s ...

, in the eastern shores of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central A ...

. The city of Hazar, former Cheleken, is located in the peninsula, which belongs administratively to Turkmenistan's

Balkan Province Balkan Region ( tk, Balkan welaýaty, Балкан велаяты) is the westernmost of the five regions of Turkmenistan. Clockwise from north it borders Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan (north); two provinces of Turkmenistan (east), Iran (south), ...

Geography

The Cheleken Peninsula is about 40 km long and 22 km wide. It borders on the

in the west and with the

Türkmenbaşy Gulf The Türkmenbaşy Gulf or Türkmenbaşy Aýlagy or Türkmenbaşy Bay ( tk, Türkmenbaşy aýlagy, russian: залив Туркменбашы) is a bay of the Caspian Sea in the coast of Turkmenistan. With the Türkmenbaşy Peninsula to the north ...

(former Krasnovodsk Bay) in the north. The peninsula has a continental dry climate with a precipitation of 150 mm/year. The area is desert and the central part is elevated terrain averaging 100 m elevation, with 25 m high cliffs in the central part of the western shore, while the eastern shore is low and sandy. The Peninsula has two spits or bars at the end running meridionally from north to south; the northern or right spit is also known as the Kafaldja Peninsula, while the southern or left spit running towards

Ogurja Ada , image_name = Ogurchinsky_caspian.jpg , image_caption = 19th-century Russian map of Ogurchinskiy Island , image_size = , map_image = Caspian5OGU.png , map_caption = Location of Ogurja Ada in the Caspian Sea , location = Ca ...

(Ogurchinsky Island) is known as the Dervish Peninsula. From time to time, such as in 1995, the Cheleken Peninsula becomes an island again when the level of the waters of the Caspian rises.Igor S. Zonn, Aleksey N Kosarev, Michael H. Glantz & Andrey G. Kostianoy, ''The Caspian Sea Encyclopedia'', p. 140 C There are

mud volcano A mud volcano or mud dome is a landform created by the eruption of mud or slurries, water and gases. Several geological processes may cause the formation of mud volcanoes. Mud volcanoes are not true igneous volcanoes as they do not produce ...

es in the Cheleken Peninsula.

Cartography

The Cheleken Peninsula was formerly an island. It was plotted on a rough map for the first time in 1715 by

Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky Prince Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky (russian: Алекса́ндр Беко́вич-Черка́сский), born Devlet-Girei-mırza (russian: Девлет-Гирей-мурза; died 1717), was a Russian officer of Circassian origin who led t ...

as 'Chereken Island'. The area was mapped by

Fedor Ivanovich Soimonov Fedor Ivanovich Soimonov (russian: Фёдор Иванович Соймо́нов; 1692 – 22 July 1780), Knight of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, was a nautical surveyor of the Imperial Russian Navy, hydrographer and pioneering explor ...

during the Caspian Expedition, which surveyed the Caspian Sea from 1719 to 1727 and in some maps of the 18th to 19th centuries it appeared as 'Neftyanoy' or as 'Neftonia'. The island was also described later by G. S. Karelin in 1832. Karelin commented that there were four types of

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...

in the Cheleken Peninsula. The island merged with the mainland after 1937.

References

External links

Minerals - Krasnovodsk, Cheleken Peninsula, Balkan Province, Turkmenistan''Overview of oil and natural gas in the Caspian Sea region'' Last Updated: August 26, 2013
{{Authority control Peninsulas of the Caspian Sea Peninsulas of Turkmenistan Former islands

Geography

Cartography

See also

References

External links