Moiynkum Desert

The sands of the Moiynkum stretch across the Chu-Talas depression, between the Chu River and the northern slopes of the Karatau and Kyrgyz Ala-Too. Ridges and low dunes cover much of this dry country, where saxaul grows among the sands and grasses are more common towards the south. The Chu and Talas lose themselves in the lowlands bordering the desert, their waters dwindling before they can reach a distant sea.