The Muyunkum Desert ( kk, Мойынқұм, ''Moiynqūm''), is a

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

in the

Jambyl Region Jambyl or Zhambyl Region ( kk, Жамбыл облысы, translit=Jambyl oblysy; russian: Жамбылская область, Zhambylskaya oblast), formerly known as Dzhambul Region (russian: Джамбульская область, Dzhambulska ...

of southern

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. Common plant types in the desert include the saksaul, milkvetch,

mugwort Mugwort is a common name for several species of aromatic flowering plants in the genus ''Artemisia.'' In Europe, mugwort most often refers to the species '' Artemisia vulgaris'', or common mugwort. In East Asia the species '' Artemisia argyi'' i ...

and

sedge The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' wit ...

Geography

It extends from the

Chu River The Chu (Shu or Chüy) ( kk, Шу, Shu, شۋ; ky, Чүй, Chüy, چۉي; dng, Чў, Chwu (from , ''Chǔ''); russian: Чу, Chu) is a river in Northern Kyrgyzstan and Southern Kazakhstan. Of its total length of ,Karatau Mountains The Karatau or Qaratau ( kk, Қаратау жотасы, Qarataw jotasy) is a mountain range located in southern Kazakhstan. The name Karatau means ''Black Mountain'' in the Kazakh language. The mountains have deposits of phosphorite, lead a ...

and

Kyrgyz Ala-Too Range The Kyrgyz Ala-Too ( ky, Кыргыз Ала-Тоосу, Kyrgyz Ala-Toosu, ; kk, Қырғыз Алатауы, Qyrǵyz Alataýy; zh, 吉尔吉斯阿拉套) also known as Kyrgyz Alatau, Kyrgyz Range, and Alexander Range (until 1933) is a large ra ...

In the south and east. Its altitude varies from 300m in the north to 700m in the southeast. The elevations range from in the northern sector to in the southeast. The Akzhar lake group is located in the desert.Муюнкум
''

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...

'' in 30 vols. — Ch. ed.

A.M. Prokhorov Alexander Mikhailovich Prokhorov (born Alexander Michael Prochoroff, russian: Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Про́хоров; 11 July 1916 – 8 January 2002) was an Australian-born Soviet-Russian physicist known ...

. - 3rd ed. - M. Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978. (in Russian)

Climate

The climate of the desert is continental. Temperatures drop to as low as -40 °C in January and rise to around 50 °C in July.

Mining

The desert is known to harbor deposits of

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

, with the South Inkai mine of

Uranium One Uranium One is an international group of companies, part of the management circuit of the TENEX Group of Rosatom State Corporation. Since 2013, it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Moscow-based Uranium One Group, a part of the Russian state-owned nu ...

and the Inkai Uranium Project of

Cameco Cameco Corporation (formerly Canadian Mining and Energy Corporation) is the world's largest publicly traded uranium company, based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. In 2015, it was the world's second largest uranium producer, accounting for 18 ...

. The uranium mines at Tortkuduk and Muyunkum are operated by the

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

- Kazakh firm KATCO.

References

Deserts of Central Asia Deserts of Kazakhstan Deserts of Kyrgyzstan Jambyl Region {{Kyrgyzstan-geo-stub

Geography

Climate

Mining

See also

References