What is Turan Depression?
[[File:Iran Turan map 1843.jpg|thumb|A map of 1843, showing the region]]The '''Turan Depression''', '''Turan Lowland''' or '''Turanian Basin''' is a [[Lowland|low-lying]] [[desert]] [[Depression (geology)|basin]] region stretching from southern [[Turkmenistan]] through [[Uzbekistan]] to [[Kazakhstan]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ti53BwAAQBAJ&dq=D%C3%A9pression+de+Touran+Kazakhstan&pg=PT2365|title=Dictionnaire de biogéographie végétale|date=5 March 2015|publisher=CNRS EDITIONS|isbn=978-2271083289|editor-last1=Métailie|editor-first1=Georges|edition=Nouvelle|language=fr|trans-title=Dictionary of plant biogeography|editor-last2=Da Lage|editor-first2=Antoine}}</ref> The [[lowland]] region lies to the east of the [[Caspian Sea]] and southeast of the [[Aral Sea]] in the vast [[Aral–Caspian Depression]]. Some of it is above sea level. It is one of the largest expanses of sand in the world,<ref>{{cite book|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/862273470|title=Soviet Empire: The Turks of Central Asia and Stalinism|author-last=Caroe|author-first=Olaf|date=1953|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan|Macmillan]]|chapter=The Turanian Basin|oclc=862273470}}</ref> covering an area of around 3 million km<sup>2</sup>. On average, the region receives less than 15 inches (381mm) of [[rainfall]] per year. The [[Karakum Desert|Karakum]] desert lies at the southern portion of the Turan Lowlands. About 80% of it is [[desert]] or desert-like. In the south there are rivers, and [[oasis|oases]]. [[Cotton]] and different kinds of [[wheat]] are grown there. In the desert-like areas, there are only small bushes, and [[Camel|camels]] and [[goats]] live there. There are a number of rivers. The most important of these are the [[Amu Darya]] and the [[Syr Darya]]. Both flow into [[Aral Sea]]. The [[Amu Darya]] River runs in a southeast–north-westerly direction through the lowlands.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Turán|volume=19|encyclopedia=Gran Enciclopedia Ilustrada|language=es|publisher=Ediciones Danae, S.A.|isbn=84-7505-292-4}}</re