CHAPTER 18 CENTRAL ASIA

WARM UP: NAME THE CAPITALS OF THE FOLLOWING

CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRIES: KAZAKHSTAN, UZBEKISTAN, TURKMENISTAN, TAJIKISTAN.

NATURAL ENVIRONMENTSAll landlocked countries

Altay Shan in far northeast

Tian Shan and Pamirs in southeast

What are these landforms?

Tectonic activity sometimes causes earthquakes

NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS (CONT)Kopet-Dag form rugged boundary between

Turkmenistan and Iran

Plateaus and plains stretch north and west from the mountains

Caspian Sea at western edge of region

East of Caspian Sea is landlocked Aral Sea

NATURAL ENVIRONMENTSAmu Dar’ya flows northwest from Pamirs to Aral Sea

Syr Dar’ya flows northwest from source in Tian Shan and empties into Aral Sea

Irrigation drains much of the water from these two rivers

Irtysh River in Eastern Kazakhstan flows northward into Russia

Joins Ob River where drains into Arctic Ocean

Provides water for crops, reservoirs, hydropower stations and industrial cities

NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS (CONT)

Lake Balkhash freshwater and saltwater

Issyk-Kul never freezes

Moderates the areas cold climate

CLIMATES, BIOMES AND NATURAL RESOURCESMostly semiarid and arid climates

2 large deserts: Kara-Kum (“Black Sand”) and Kyzyl-Kum (“Red Sand”)

Small area with Mediterranean climate in southern Turkmenistan

CLIMATES, BIOMES AND NATURAL RESOURCESDecidious forests at middle elevations

Walnut trees

Evergreen trees in higher elevations

Alluvial fans, foothills, and river deltas support grasses and shrubs

Deer, pheasants and wild boar

Snow leopard in high southeastern ranges

CLIMATE, BIOMES AND NATURAL RESOURCESBeautiful vegetation in spring

Antelope, wildcats, and wolves

Domesticated camels, goats and sheep graze on desert grasses

Water is most precious resource

Dams generate hydroelectricity

CLIMATE, BIOMES AND NATURAL RESOURCESTons of mineral and energy resources

Coal deposits, oil fields (Caspian Sea area)

Copper, iron, lead and nickel in Kazakhstan.

Zinc

Gold in Uzbekistan