Editing Geography of Turkmenistan (section)

==Physical features==
{{see also|List of mountains of Turkmenistan}}
[[Image:Turkmenistan 1994 CIA map.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Relief map of Turkmenistan (1994)]]
[[Image:Turkmenistan Topography.png|thumb|400px|Topography of Turkmenistan]]

Terrain of Turkmenistan consists of a flat-to-rolling sandy [[desert]], the [[Karakum Desert|Karakum]], with its [[dune]]s slowly rising to the south; by the time they reach the border with [[Iran]], they become the mountains known as the [[Kopet Dag]]. The [[Caspian Sea]] washes the western shores of this mostly [[arid]] country.

Turkmenistan's average elevation is {{Convert|100-220|m|sp=us}} above sea level, with its highest point being [[Mount Ayrybaba|Mount Aýrybaba]] ({{Convert|3,139|m|abbr=on|disp=or}}) in the [[Köýtendag Range]] of the [[Pamir-Alay]] chain in the south-east,<ref name="peaklist">[http://www.peaklist.org/WWlists/ultras/StansP1500m.html "The Central Asian Republics: Ultra-Prominence Page"]. Peaklist.org. Retrieved 2014-05-26.</ref> and its lowest point being the Akjagaýa Depression in [[Sarygamysh Lake]], close to {{Convert|100|m|sp=us}} below sea level (the actual water level in Sarygamysh Lake fluctuates widely from –110 m at its shallowest to –60 m ({{Convert|-110 to -60|m|abbr=on|disp=out}}).<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web| url = http://content.mail.ru/arch/14197/852932.html| title = Natural conditions in Turkmenistan}}</ref> [[Gora Arlan|Mount Arlan]] rises sharply above sea level in the [[Uly Balkan|Great Balkan Range]] in western Turkmenistan ([[Balkan Province]]), and has a topographical prominence only slightly shorter than its height.<ref name="peaklist" /> Nearly 80% of the republic lies within the [[Turan Depression]], which slopes from south to north and from east to west.<ref name=":0" />

Turkmenistan's mountains include {{Convert|600|km|abbr=on|sp=us|adj=on}} of the northern reaches of the Kopet Dag Range, which it shares with Iran.<ref name=":0" /> The Kopet Dag Range is a region characterized by foothills, dry and sandy slopes, mountain plateaus, and steep ravines; [[Mount Şahşah]] ({{Convert|2,912|m|abbr=on|disp=or}}), also known as [[Mount Rizeh]], southwest of [[Ashgabat]], is the highest elevation of the Kopet Dag Range in Turkmenistan.<ref name=":0" /> The Kopet Dag is undergoing tectonic transformation, meaning that the region is threatened by [[earthquake]]s such as the one that destroyed Ashgabat in 1948.<ref name=":0" /> The [[Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan|Krasnovodsk]] and [[Ustyurt|Üstýurt]] plateaus are the prominent topographical features of northwestern Turkmenistan.<ref name=":0" />

A dominant feature of the republic's landscape is the Garagum Desert (also known as [[Karakum Desert|Karakum]]), which occupies about {{Convert|350,000|km2|sp=us}}.<ref name=":0" /> Shifting winds create desert mountains that range from {{Convert|2 to 20|m|ft|sp=us|round=5|spell=in}} in height and may be several kilometers in length.<ref name=":0" /> Chains of such structures are common, as are steep elevations and smooth, concrete-like clay deposits formed by the rapid evaporation of flood waters in the same area for a number of years.<ref name=":0" /> Large marshy salt flats, formed by capillary action in the soil, exist in many depressions, including the [[Garaşor]], which occupies {{Convert|1,500|km2|sp=us}} in the northwest.<ref name=":0" /> The [[Sandykly Desert]] west of the [[Amu Darya]] river is the southernmost extremity of the [[Kyzyl Kum|Qizilqum]] Desert, most of which lies in Uzbekistan to the northeast.<ref name=":0" />