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Warm Up

Warm Up. If you had to guess what kind of culture the countries of Central Asia have, how would you describe it?. Central Asia. Chapter 18. Why we should know more: . The region has large oil and gas deposits. The U.S. may want to buy petroleum products from the countries there.

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Warm Up

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  1. Warm Up • If you had to guess what kind of culture the countries of Central Asia have, how would you describe it?

  2. Central Asia Chapter 18

  3. Why we should know more: • The region has large oil and gas deposits. The U.S. may want to buy petroleum products from the countries there. • People in the region are struggling with the shift from communism to more open systems of government. • Damage from soviet nuclear tests in the area may last far into the future. • Uzbekistan aided the U.S. military in its attacks against the Taliban in Afghanistan. • The region is opening to tourism. It offers some of the most spectacular scenery in the world.

  4. Essential Questions • What are the major landforms and rivers of Central Asia? • What climates, biomes, and natural resources does the region have?

  5. Central Asia • The five countries of Central Asia are Kazakhstan,Kyrgystan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. • They are all landlocked. • The north contains semiarid grasslands. • The east contains plateausand barren deserts. • Most of the region’s people are clustered in the southeast , because riversbring waterfrom the high mountains. (The water is from snowmelt.)

  6. Landforms • Central Asia contains elevations from below sea level to high mountain peaks. • The Altay Shanrise in the far northeast. (Shanmeans “mountain” in Chinese.) • The Tian Shan and the Pamirsranges are located in the southeast. • These ranges were formed by tectonicforces that push the Indian subcontinent into the rest of Asia. • In 1911, an earthquake in the Pamirs of Tajikistan created Lake Sares. A huge lake, it is feared that another earthquake could cause the water from the lake to flood over the thousands of people in the nearby villiages.

  7. Landforms (cont.) • Earthquakes are common in this area. • All of the countries in this area have mountains that are more than 10,000feet high. • Tajikistancontains the region’s tallest peak (24,590 ft.) • Glaciersare common in Central Asia’s mountains. • Tajikistan’s massive FedchenkoGlacier is 44 miles long. • The Kopet-Dagmountains form the boundary between Turkmenistan and Iran. • These are lower and drier than the ranges in the East

  8. Landforms (cont.) • Plateaus and plains are north and west of the mountains. • The CaspianSea lies at the region’s western edge. • The world’s largest lake. • 92feet below sea level, and no outlet to the ocean • To the east of this lies the landlocked AralSea.

  9. Rivers and Lakes • Only 2major rivers flow all the way across Central Asia. • Amu Dar’ya • Fed by snowmelt from the Pamirs to the Aral Sea • 1,578 miles • SyrDar’ya • From the Tian Shan into the Aral Sea • Provides water for densely populated Fergana Valley Both rivers flow northwest.

  10. Rivers and Lakes (cont.) • Irrigation drains most of the water from the rivers. (There is a canal from the Amu Dar’ya across most of southern Turkmeinistan, by the time the river reaches the Aral Sea, it is mostly a trickle of water.) • East of Kazakhstan, the IrtyshRiver flows northward into Russia. • It joins the Ob River, which drains into the ArcticOcean • Irtysh also provides water for crops, reservoirs, hydropower stations, and industrial cities.

  11. Rivers and Lakes (cont.) • Lake Balkhash • Shallow • Freshwater where the Ili River and other streams enter it, but salty at its eastern end. • Issyk-Kul • Never freezeseven though it lies about a mile above sea level in the Tian Shan • Warmwater moderates the areas otherwise cold climate.

  12. Climates, Biomes, and Natural Resources • Most areas in Central Asia have harshclimates. • Far removed from oceanicinfluences • High mountains form a barrier to warm, moist winds from the IndianOcean and create a rain shadow. • precipitationtotals are low, extreme seasonal temperature ranges • Summer temperatures can reach 115 • Winter temperatures can reach -36

  13. Climates • Mostly semiarid and aridclimates. • 2 large deserts • Kara-Kum • “Black Sand” • One of the world’s largest tracts of drifting sand dunes • KyzylKum • “Red Sand” • Mostly stonyground

  14. Kara-Kum Desert “Black Sand”

  15. KyzylKum “Red Sand”

  16. Climates • Southern Turkmenistanhas a small area with a Mediterraneanclimate. • City of Ashgabat was a center of Sovietfilmmaking. • Foothills of Tian Shan have mild weather • Almaty, Kazakhstan gets about 23inches of rain • Pleasant Springand Fall

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