Which desert in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan lies southeast of the Aral Sea?

The desert in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan that lies southeast of the Aral Sea is the Kyzylkum Desert.

Kyzylkum means “Red Sand” in Turkic languages. Covering roughly 300,000 square kilometers, it occupies much of central Uzbekistan and extends into southern Kazakhstan. The desert lies between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, two major waterways of Central Asia.

Kyzylkum is a landscape of sand ridges, gravel plains, clay flats, and isolated rocky areas rather than an uninterrupted sea of dunes. Its climate is sharply continental, with very hot summers and cold winters. Saxaul shrubs are among its characteristic plants, helping stabilize the shifting sands.

A common mix-up is the Karakum Desert, or “Black Sand” Desert, which lies mainly in Turkmenistan. The Aralkum is another nearby desert, but it formed on the former seabed of the shrinking Aral Sea and is therefore distinct from the older Kyzylkum.