The Moiynkum 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

Turkistan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turke ...

and Zhambyl regions 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 saksaul,

milkvetch ''Astragalus'' is a large genus of over 3,000 species of herbs and small shrubs, belonging to the legume family Fabaceae and the subfamily Faboideae. It is the largest genus of plants in terms of described species. The genus is native to tempe ...

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 ...

. The Andasay State Nature Reserve is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

that was established in 1966.

Geography

The Moiynkum Desert is limited by 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 Karatau ( kz, Қаратау, ''Qaratau'') is an administrative center in the Talas region located in the Jambyl Region in the south of Kazakhstan. It has an estimated population of roughly 30,000 in 1999. , the population is now 27,667. The la ...

and

Kyrgyz Ala-Too 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 ...

to the south and southeast. Its elevation ranges from in the northern sector to in the southeast. River

Chu Chu or CHU may refer to: Chinese history * Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty * Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu * Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the Ha ...

flows at the northern edge of the desert, with lakes Kokuydynkol and Zhalanash close to the left side of its channel. In wet years it may reach the drainless salt lake

Akzhaykyn Akzhaykyn ( kk, Ақжайқын; russian: Акжайкын) is a salt lake group in Sozak District, Turkistan Region, Kazakhstan. Akzhaykyn is one of the main lakes of the Ashchykol Depression. There used to be fisheries in the lake in 1965— ...

in the

Ashchykol Depression The Ashchykol Depression ( kk, Ащыкөл ойпаты; rus, Ащыкольская впадина), is a depression in the Turkistan and Kyzylorda regions, Kazakhstan.Google Earth The village of Taykonyr, Suzak District, Turkistan Region is ...

, at the western end of the desert. The

Akzhar Akzhar ( kk, Ақжар; russian: Акжар) is a salt lake group in the Zhambyl and Turkistan regions, Kazakhstan. The lakes lie northwest of Saudakent town and northeast of Kumkent. The Akzhar lake zone includes a Important Bird Area. ...

lake group is located in the southern area.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 in January and rise to around 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 Moiynkum 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

External links

*
Андасайский заказникChu-Talas, Kazakhstan
Deserts of Central Asia Deserts of Kazakhstan Deserts of Kyrgyzstan Jambyl Region {{Kyrgyzstan-geo-stub

Geography

Climate

Mining

See also

References

External links