Ustyurt Plateau
The Ustyurt or Ust-Yurt is a transboundary clay desert shared by Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
The plateau's semi-nomadic population raises camels, goats, and sheep.
Geography
The Ustyurt is located between the Dead Kultuk, Mangyshlak Peninsula and Kara-Bogaz-Gol of the Caspian Sea to the west, and the Aral Sea, Amudarya Delta and Sarygamysh Lake to the east.It extends roughly, with an average altitude of. Its highest point rises to in the south-west. At its northeastern edge it drops steeply to the Aral Sea and the surrounding plain.
The Ustyurt Plateau is bounded by steep cliffs called chinks nearly from everywhere. To the east, it encompasses the historical western shoreline of the Aral Sea. In the southern region, it extends to the Kunya-Darya alluvial plain and the valley of the Uzboy, while in the west, it reaches the Karynyaryk depression. To the north, it spans the Karakum sands of the North Caspian Sea and includes the Caspian Depression. Ustyurt chinks often have multicolored layers, with colors of pale pink, blue, clear white, etc., and can form fancy landscapes.