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| Location: |
Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan
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| Geographic coordinates: |
40 00 N, 60 00 E
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| Map references: |
Commonwealth of Independent States
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| Area: |
total:
488,100 sq km
land:
488,100 sq km
water:
0 sq km
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| Area - comparative: |
slightly larger than California
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| Land boundaries: |
total:
3,736 km
border countries:
Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km
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| Coastline: |
0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)
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| Maritime claims: |
none (landlocked)
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| Climate: |
subtropical desert
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| Terrain: |
flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west
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| Elevation extremes: |
lowest point:
Vpadina Akchanaya -81.00 m; note - Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in northern Turkmenistan with a water level that fluctuates above and below the elevation of Vpadina Akchanaya (the lake has dropped as low as -110 m)
highest point:
Gora Ayribaba 3,139 m
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| Natural resources: |
petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulfur, salt
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| Land use: |
arable land:
3%
permanent crops:
0%
permanent pastures:
63%
forests and woodland:
8%
other:
26% (1993 est.)
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| Irrigated land: |
13,000 sq km (1993 est.)
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| Environment - current issues: |
contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals, pesticides; salination, water-logging of soil due to poor irrigation methods; Caspian Sea pollution; diversion of a large share of the flow of the Amu Darya into irrigation contributes to that river's inability to replenish the Aral Sea; desertification
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| Environment - international agreements: |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
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| Geography - note: |
landlocked
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