Kara Kum

Kara-Kum isnametwo deserts:

The Caspian Kara Kum ("Black Sand"),larger desert at over 300,000 km²,east ofCaspian Sea, withAral Sea tonorth andAmu Darya riverKyzyl-Kum desert tonortheastcovers 90 per centTurkmenistan. Itcrossed byTrans-Caspian railway andlargest irrigation canal inworld,Kara-Kum Canal at 1375 kmlength. The canal was started1954carries 13 km³water annually, unfortunately leakages fromcanal has resultedlakesponds alongcanal andrisegroundwater has caused widespread salinization. The area also has significant oilnatural gas deposits.

The Aral Kara Kum desert (40,000 km²) lies north ofAral SeaKazakhstan.