Karakum Desert

The Karakum Desert, also spelled Kara-Kum and Gara-Gum, is a desert in Central Asia. Its name in Turkic languages means "black sand": "kum" means sand; "kara" is a contraction of garaňky: "dark" or may pre-date that in this language family. This refers to the shale-rich sand generally beneath the sand of much of the desert. It occupies about 70 percent, 350,000 km2, of Turkmenistan.

The population is sparse, with an average of one person per 6.5 km2. Rainfall is also rare, ranging from 70 to 150 mm per year.