☰ Contents · Geography

Sub-regions, environmental problems and Part I review

Lessons 32–34 · 3 lessons · P. Gulomov, H. Vahobov, P. Baratov, M. Mamatqulov. Geography (Physical Geography of Central Asia; Physical Geography of Uzbekistan), Grade 7. Revised and expanded 5th edition. “O‘qituvchi” Publishing House, Tashkent, 2017
32

Sub-regions and natural districts of Central Asia

Textbook: pp. 74–75
GoalName and locate the mountain and plain groups of natural districts in the Turan and Kazakhstan sub-regions.
New words
group of natural districts · tabiiy rayonlar guruhimountain districts · tog‘li rayonlarplain districts · tekislik rayonlariUstyurt · Ustyurt
Explanation

The Turan sub-region is a huge territory from the Caspian shore in the west to the Fergana range in the east and down to about 34° N in the south. Its north-western half is a lowland up to 200 m above sea level, while in the south-east the surface rises to about 7700 m in the Hindu Kush. The mountain group of districts includes the Western Tien Shan, Southern Tien Shan, Pamir and Badakhshan, and the southern young mountains. The plains group includes the Karakum, Kyzylkum, the Caspian plain, the Khorezm plain (Lower Amudarya), the Badkhyz-Karabil uplands, the piedmont and intermountain plains (Mirzachul, Fergana, Zarafshan and Kashkadarya valleys) and the Upper Amudarya valley. In the Kazakhstan sub-region the mountain group is made of the East Kazakhstan mountains, Northern and Central Tien Shan and the Kazakh uplands, and the plains group of the Ustyurt Plateau and Mangyshlak, the Turgay table country, the Aral sands and the South Kazakhstan deserts.

Worked examples
The Tashkent and Samarkand regions lie in the piedmont and intermountain plains of the plains group, the oases of the Turan sub-region.
The Ustyurt Plateau belongs to the Kazakhstan sub-region because its summer is not as scorching as in the Turan deserts and its winter is much colder.
Class activity

“Districts bingo”: each district name is on a separate sheet; the teacher reads a description (“a sandy desert between two rivers...”) and students raise the sheet.

Practice
1
Which mountains form the mountain group of the Turan sub-region?
2
Which group do Mirzachul, Fergana and Zarafshan belong to?
3
The north-western half of Turan is a lowland up to 200 m, and the surface rises to about 7700 m. About how many metres is the height difference?
4
Why is the Ustyurt included in the Kazakhstan sub-region? Explain.