Aral Karakum Desert

The Aral Karakum is a sandy desert northeast of the Aral Sea, bounded to the south by the Syr Darya. Its dunes and dry plains experience hot summers and cold winters. Pastoral communities from the lower Syr Darya used the sands as seasonal grazing country, moving their herds north from the river's delta when the southern pastures became inhospitable in summer.