The Iran–Turkmenistan border is 1,148 km (713 miles) in length and runs from 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 Asia ...

to the tripoint with

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. The Turkmen capital

Ashgabat Ashgabat or Asgabat ( tk, Aşgabat, ; fa, عشق‌آباد, translit='Ešqābād, formerly named Poltoratsk ( rus, Полтора́цк, p=pəltɐˈratsk) between 1919 and 1927), is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lie ...

is only 15 miles north of this boundary, and Mashhad (Iran's second largest city) is 47 miles south of it.

Description

The border starts at the Caspian coast just to the south of the Turkmen town of Esenguly. It then goes overland in an eastwards directions in a series of straight lines through barren salt flats for 50 km (31m) until reaching the

Atrek The Atrek ( fa, اترک, ku, Etrek, tk, Etrek derýasy), also known as the Attruck, Atrak, and Etrek, is a fast-moving river which begins in the mountains of north-eastern Iran (), and flows westward draining into the south-eastern corner of th ...

river, the course of which it follows for 124 km (77m) to a point just south of the Turkmen village of Chat. The border then continues overland eastwards/north-eastwards across the

Kopet Dag The Köpet Dag, Kopet Dagh, or Koppeh Dagh ( tk, Köpetdag; fa, کپه‌داغ), also known as the Turkmen-Khorasan Mountain Range, is a mountain range on the border between Turkmenistan and Iran that extends about along the border southeast o ...

mountain range for 151 km (94m) before reaching the Sumbar river, the course of which it then follows for 41 km (26m). It then continues overland across mountain ridges in a broadly south-eastern arc for 455 km (283m) to the vicinity of the Iranian village of

Chahchaheh Chahchaheh ( fa, چهچهه) is a village in Pasakuh Rural District, Zavin District, Kalat County, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 584, in 126 families. The village is located on the border with Turkmenistan ...

. From here a roughly straight line section runs for 77 km (48m) to the Harirud river (Tedzhen in Turkmen), the course of which it follows south for 120 km (75m) to the Afghan tripoint. The immediate border area is largely uninhabited, except for the central section around Ashgabat on the Turkmen side; this area of the border, plus the western section, is roughly paralleled by highways. The Turkmen section of the

Trans-Caspian Railway The Trans-Caspian Railway (also called the Central Asian Railway, russian: Среднеазиатская железная дорога) is a railway that follows the path of the Silk Road through much of western Central Asia. It was built by ...

also roughly parallels the frontier in the central section, coming less than half a mile north of the boundary in the vicinity of

Lotfabad Lotfabad ( fa, لطف آباد, also romanized as Loţfābād and Lutfābād; formerly, Bāba Jām) is a city and capital of Lotfabad District, in Dargaz County, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 1,897, in 57 ...

. On the Iranian side, roughly 50 miles south of the border runs the major highways connecting the towns of

Gorgan Gorgan ( fa, گرگان ; also romanized as ''Gorgān'', ''Gurgān'', and ''Gurgan''), formerly Esterabad ( ; also romanized as ''Astarābād'', ''Asterabad'', and ''Esterābād''), is the capital city of Golestan Province, Iran. It lies appro ...

Bojnurd Bojnord ( fa, ; also romanized Bojnūrd, Bujnūrd, Bojnoord, Bojnord or Bujnurd), known in the Middle Ages as Buzanjird, is the capital city of North Khorasan Province, Iran. It is about from Tehran. and It is located 237 km away from Mashhad ...

and Mashhad, with roads connecting the smaller towns to the north.

History

The border was inherited from the old Persia-USSR border, which largely took its current shape during the 19th Century after the Russian conquest of Central Asia and its annexation of the

Khanate of Kokand The Khanate of Kokand ( fa, ; ''Khānneshin-e Khoqand'', chg, ''Khoqand Khānligi'') was a Central Asian polity in the Fergana Valley centred on the city of Kokand between 1709 and 1876. Its territory is today divided between Uzbekistan, Kyr ...

and the Emirate of Bukhara in 1865–68. In 1869 Persia and Russia agreed that the Atrek river would be the border between them. This boundary was confirmed and then extended eastwards to the vicinity of Ashgabat in 1881 following further Russian advances into Turkmen lands, and then to the border with Afghanistan in 1893; various further delimitations of this border occurred in the following years. Further small changes were made in the period 1954-57 when Iran and the USSR (as they now were) agreed to more clearly demarcate their common border, including the Atrek delta region which had since altered due to the shrinking of the Caspian Sea.

Border crossings

* Bajgiran (IRN) – Bajgiran (TKM) (road) *Sarakhs (IRN) – Serakhs (TKM) (road) * Lotfabad (IRN) – Artyk (TKM) (road)

Settlements near the border

Iran

* Gomishan * Incheh Borun * Bachcheh Darreh * Hesarcheh * Robat, Zavin * Shuy, Razavi Khorasan *

* Now Khandan *

Dargaz Dargaz ( fa, درگز, also romanized as Dar Gaz; also known as Darreh Gaz; formerly, Moḩammadābād, Moḩammadābād Arbāb, and Muhammadābād) is a city and capital of Dargaz County, in Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. The city of Dargaz ...

* Giru * Koshtani * Qarah Takan, Razavi Khorasan *

* Alamtu *

Sarakhs Sarakhs ( fa, سرخس, Saraxs, also Romanized as Serakhs) is a city in Sarakhs County, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. Sarakhs was once a stopping point along the Silk Road, and in its 11th century heyday had many libraries. Much of the origina ...

* Shir Tappeh * Jannatabad, Torbat-e Jam

Turkmenistan

* Esenguly * Ajyyap *

Gyzyletrek , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_seal = , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Turkmenistan , pushpin_label_position =bottom , pushpin_mapsize = 300 , pushpin_map_caption =Location in ...

* Chat * Kuruzhdey * Khodzhakala * Kënekesir * Shemli * Kazgan * Arab-Kala * Hawdan * Kaka *

Dushak Dushak ( tk, Duşak) is a small town in the Karakum Desert on the rim of the Kopet Dag mountains of Ahal Province, Turkmenistan. See also * Railway stations in Turkmenistan Railway stations in Turkmenistan include: Maps UN MapUNHCR Map ...

* Miana * Imeni Kuliyev *

Akhchadepe Akhchadepe is a town in southern Turkmenistan about from the border with Iran. It is located in Ahal Province. Nearby settlements include Imeni Stalina, Turkmenistan, Imeni Stalina (), Mane, Turkmenistan, Mane (), Cace (), Chahchaheh () and Che ...

* Karaman Vtoroy * Kichiga Vtoraya *

Serakhs Sarahs (, also written Saraghs, Serahs, Sarakhs, Saragt, or Serakhs, the last a backformation of russian: Серахс) is an oasis city in Ahal Province, Turkmenistan, and the administrative center of Sarahs district ( tk, Sarahs etraby). It is ...

* Polekhatum

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iran-Turkmenistan border

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 sout ...

Borders of Turkmenistan International borders