Ustyurt Plateau

The Ustyurt or Ust-Yurt (from Kazakh: Үстірт; Uzbek: Ustyurt; Turkmen: Üstyurt; Karakalpak: Ústirt — flat hill, plateau) is a transboundary clay desert shared by Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.^[1]

The plateau's semi-nomadic population raises camels, goats, and sheep.

The Ustyurt is located between the Dead Kultuk, Mangyshlak Peninsula and Kara-Bogaz-Gol of the Caspian Sea to the west, and the Aral Sea, Amudarya Delta and Sarygamysh Lake to the east.

It extends roughly 200,000 km² (77,000 sq mi), with an average altitude of 150 m (490 ft). Its highest point rises to 370 m (1,200 ft) in the south-west.^[2] At its northeastern edge it drops steeply to the Aral Sea and the surrounding plain.

The Ustyurt Plateau is bounded by steep cliffs called chinks nearly from everywhere. To the east, it encompasses the historical western shoreline of the Aral Sea. In the southern region, it extends to the Kunya-Darya alluvial plain and the valley of the Uzboy, while in the west, it reaches the Karynyaryk depression. To the north, it spans the Karakum sands of the North Caspian Sea and includes the Caspian Depression.^[3] Ustyurt chinks often have multicolored layers, with colors of pale pink, blue, clear white, etc., and can form fancy landscapes.^[4]

Kazajistán creó la Reserva Natural de Ustyurt (223.300 hectáreas) en julio de 1984 en el sur del distrito de Mangystausky en la región de Eralievsky. ^{[ 5 ]} Conserva fauna y flora raras como el carnero de montaña de Ustyurt y el antílope saiga . ^{[ 6 ]} Entre sus características se encuentran la montaña Sherkala y las concreciones encontradas en Torysh ('Valle de las Bolas') cerca de la ciudad de Shetpe .

• Emba (río)
• Karakalpaks
• región del oasis de Khwarezm
• Óblast Transcaspiano

• Contenido multimedia relacionado con Ustyurt en Wikimedia Commons
• Cientos de cometas del desierto en Ustyurt . National Geographic