The Ustyurt natural-geographic district

Ustyurt’s climate is sharply continental: winters dry and cold, summers hot and dry. It is the coldest-wintered part of Uzbekistan, because it lies furthest north and, with no natural barriers, Arctic and Siberian air enters freely. The January mean is –10…–11°C, with falls to –38°C. Summer is short and not very scorching: the July mean is +26…+27°C and the highest +44°C. Frost starts from early October and the frost-free period is the shortest in the republic — 153 days. Annual precipitation is 100–120 mm: 34 percent in spring, 26 percent in autumn, 23 percent in summer and 17 percent in winter; summer precipitation is relatively high for Uzbekistan. There is no permanent flowing water; in spring hollows fill with melt water and form small ephemeral pools that evaporate in summer and turn saline. Ground water lies at 20–50 m and is mostly salty, though some drinkable water has been found. The main soil is grey-brown (humus 0.5–0.8 percent), with saline soils in hollows. Vegetation is mostly wormwood and sora, with some iloq, black saxaul, burgan and sarisazan, and ephemerals in spring. Animals: goitred gazelle, saiga, wolf, fox, ground squirrel, jerboa, lark; the Red Book Ustyurt sheep and large-eared bat. The “Saygachiy” zakaznik was set up to protect the declining saiga.