turkmenistan has an area of nearly . iran and afghanistan lie to the south, uzbekistan lies to the north-east and kazakhstan to the north-west, and it has a long coastline on the caspian sea to the west. most of the surface is flat, rolling, sandy terrain forming the karakum desert. to the southwest of the country, on the border with iran, lies the kopet dag range of mountains. this region is characterized by foothills, dry and sandy slopes, mountain plateaus and steep ravines; here the highest point is mount şahşah . the land also rises in the southeastern corner of the country towards the mountain ranges of afghanistan. at the extreme east of turkmenistan is the köýtendag range with the highest mountain in the country, mount aýrybaba ().