The “Red Sand” desert of Central Asia, lying between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers.
Area
300,000 km²
Continent
Asia
Location
Central Asia, between the Amu Darya & Syr Darya
Temperature
−10°C to +45°C
Rainfall
Under 200 mm a year
Climate
Cold desert
About the Kyzylkum Desert
The Kyzylkum, meaning “Red Sand”, stretches across Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan between Central Asia’s two great rivers. It is a cold desert of reddish dunes and takyr clay flats. Beneath the surface lie some of the region’s richest gold and natural-gas deposits, and its rocks yield important dinosaur fossils.
Did you know?
Dinosaur fossils and rich gold and gas deposits lie beneath its red sands.
Highlights
- Its name means “Red Sand”
- Rich in gold and gas deposits
- Important dinosaur fossil sites
Photo gallery
Life in the Kyzylkum Desert
Animals, birds and plants that have adapted to survive this landscape.
Animals
Bactrian camel
The two-humped camel of Central Asia, built for freezing cold-desert winters.
Jerboa
A tiny hopping rodent with long hind legs, bounding like a mini-kangaroo.
Sand cat
A small wildcat with furry foot-pads that walk unburnt across hot sand.
Birds
Houbara bustard
A well-camouflaged desert bird of Arabia and Central Asia.
Trees & plants
Saxaul
A gnarled Central-Asian tree that anchors shifting cold-desert sands.
Day & night in the Kyzylkum Desert
Deserts are famous for their extreme temperature swings. Flip between day and night to feel the difference — these are typical figures for a cold desert.
Midday sun
+32°C
typical daytime high
Hot or mild summer days swing to bitterly cold nights, and winters can stay far below freezing — these deserts see some of the biggest temperature ranges on Earth.
Recorded range for the Kyzylkum Desert: −10°C to +45°C