Karagiye

Karagiye (Kazakh: Қарақия ойысы, Qaraqiia oiysy; Karagiye means Black Jaw in Turkic[1]) is a 40 kilometres (25 mi) long karst trench close to the Caspian Sea. At its lowest point at Vpadina Kaundy, it is approximately 134 metres (440 ft) below sea level.[2] It is the lowest point in Central Asia, Kazakhstan, and the former Soviet Union. It is also known as the Karagiye Depression and Karagiye Mountain Trench.[1]

Karagiye (Қарақия ойысы)
Karagiye Mountain Trench,[1]
Karagiye Depression
Karagiye Depression.JPG
View of Karagiye Depression
Karagiye is located in Kazakhstan
Karagiye
Karagiye
Karagiye within Kazakhstan
Floor elevation-134 m
Length40 km[1]
Width10 km[1]
Geology
TypeKarst
Geography
LocationMangyshlak Peninsula, Kazakhstan
Coordinates43°24′0″N 51°47′24″E 

The trench was formed as soluble limestone, dolomite and gypsum dissolved forming potholes, funnels and caves that eventually collapsed. Today the trench features many scarps and offsets and generates long rain clouds caused by the air rising above it.[1] There is a vernal lake in the south-west of the trench and a stream rising from a drilled well that disappears back into the ground within the trench.[1]

The trench is inhabited by mouflon, corsac, snakes, hares and vultures. It is the only place within the Mangyshlak Peninsula where mushrooms grow and these are collected by locals.[1]

See also

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Karagiye.
  1. KAZAKHSTAN THE LAND OF WONDERS. Almaty: BW-KZ. 2009.
  2. Gall, Timothy L.; Hobby, Jeneen M. (2007). Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations: Asia & Oceania. Thomson Gale. ISBN 978-1-4144-1093-7 – via Internet Archive. %22Vpadina Kaundy%22.


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