Ust Yurt

Northern Ustyurt is a wide plateau of desert and steppe between the Caspian lowlands and the Aral country. Its surface is mostly level, but closed depressions hold salt marshes and dry lake beds, and the Sam sands spread across the northwestern part. Steep escarpments mark the plateau's edges. Caravan routes and wells crossed the upland, linking Khwarazm with the lands to the north and west across a region where permanent surface water is scarce.