Cheleken Peninsula
The Cheleken Peninsula is a peninsula located in western Turkmenistan, in the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea.
The city of Hazar, former Cheleken, is located in the peninsula, which administratively belongs to Turkmenistan's Balkan Province.
Geography
The Cheleken Peninsula is about 40 km long and 22 km wide. It borders on the Caspian Sea in the west and with the Türkmenbaşy Gulf in the north. The peninsula has a continental dry climate with a precipitation of 150 mm/year. The area is desert and the central part is elevated terrain averaging 100 m elevation, with 25 m high cliffs in the central part of the western shore, while the eastern shore is low and sandy.The Peninsula has two spits or bars at the end running meridionally from north to south; the northern or right spit is also known as the Kafaldja Peninsula, while the southern or left spit running towards Ogurja Ada is known as the Dervish Peninsula. From time to time, such as in 1995, the Cheleken Peninsula becomes an island again when the level of the waters of the Caspian rises. There are mud volcanoes in the Cheleken Peninsula.