Which desert covers much of Turkmenistan and is crossed by the Karakum Canal?

The Karakum Desert covers much of Turkmenistan and is crossed by the Karakum Canal.

The name Karakum means “Black Sand” in Turkic languages. The desert occupies about 350,000 square kilometres, covering roughly 70 percent of Turkmenistan’s territory. Its surface includes sand dunes, gravel plains, and clay depressions.

The Karakum Canal, one of the world’s largest irrigation canals, carries water from the Amu Darya across the desert toward southern and western Turkmenistan. Construction began in the 1950s and expanded over subsequent decades.

The desert also contains the Darvaza gas crater, popularly called the “Door to Hell.” That landmark is associated with a natural-gas field and is separate from the desert’s main irrigation system.