The Karakum Desert is one of the largest deserts in Central Asia, occupying almost 3/4 of the territory of Turkmenistan. The total area of the desert is more than 350 thousand square meters. km. It exceeds the territory of states such as Italy or Great Britain.
Scientists, taking into account the peculiarities of vegetation, geological structure and soils, divide the Karakum desert into Zaunguz, Central, and South-Eastern.
Zaunguz Karakum was formed over a million years ago. This is the oldest and most elevated part of the region - 40-50 m higher than the other two parts.
The groundwater here is mostly salty, so pastures are not used as intensively in the region, and the climate of these places is more severe than in the rest of the Karakum Desert. In the north-west, they are limited by a relatively well-preserved winding ancient channel of the Western Uzboy, and in the south by a poorly explored ledge to a strip of mysterious Unguz depressions.
The central and southeastern Karakum are generally low-lying. The border between them is conventionally drawn along the Tejen-Turkmenabat railway line. In terms of surface structure, both of these parts are more flat than the Zaunguzie. This circumstance, as well as richer and year-round pastures, many fresh water wells, as well as the proximity to large cities, contribute to their much more intensive economic development.
In the sands more than in the oases, men often wear national clothes - telpek, wide trousers and a long robe. Such a suit is more comfortable here both in summer and in winter cold.
The history of the formation of the Karakum desert has attracted the attention of scientists since ancient times. At the end of the 19th century, two hypotheses of its origin were put forward: the first is sea, and the second is river.
The marine hypothesis, proposed by the mining engineer Afanasy Konshin, asserted that the entire territory of the Karakum desert in the recent geological past was the seabed, and the sands that now cover the surface of the desert are the sediments of the former sea. He wrote: "The Karakum desert was undoubtedly the bottom of the Aral-Caspian Sea, which gave material to these sands, and the winds later gave them a hilly character."
Another hypothesis about the river origin of the Karakum desert belongs to academician Vladimir Obruchev. He studied the desert for several years and came to the conviction that its sands were formed mainly by the activity of rivers, which carried the products of rock destruction from the southern ridges. The ideas about the river formation of the Karakum sands were put forward by some scientists even before Obruchev, but it was he who equipped it with factual substantiations.
The origin of the name of the desert also caused a lot of controversy. Everyone knows that "Karakum" is translated from Turkmen as "black sands". Some researchers note that the desert was called so for the color of the landscape. Other experts say that in both Turkmen and Russian the word “black” has a second meaning: gloomy, heavy, difficult. Therefore, in their opinion, the desert was named the Karakum Desert for the fact that with its harsh natural conditions it brought hardships to the people living in it.
At present, the first assumption seems to be more convincing. As for the second, according to which the desert was called “black” for its gloom and hostility to people, he was one of the first to be voiced by the English traveler A. Berne who first came to the Karakum Desert. He was frightened by the incinerating heat, waterlessness, tornadoes, and poisonous animals. But even this did not prevent Berne from celebrating the charm of the Karakum oases. He wrote: “Other deserts are insignificant in comparison with this endless ocean of sands. The peculiarity of the desert surface, its flora and fauna is fraught with extraordinary charm. "
Roman Teplyakov
