Uzbekistan’s relief has two large parts: broad plains in the west and centre, and mountains in the east and south-east. The two parts have different geological histories, so their mineral resources are also distributed differently. Relief shapes climate, rivers, soils and vegetation, and also where people live and work: oases lie at the foot of mountains and in river valleys, mines in residual mountains, and pastures in the mountains. Exams expect you to know ranges, peaks, basins and deposits by their position on the map.
§1. Geological structure and development
The western part is the Turan Plate: thick sedimentary layers lie on an ancient folded basement. In the Mesozoic and Palaeogene the area was covered by sea, and the sediments on its floor produced oil, gas, salts and phosphorites. When the sea retreated, plains appeared. The eastern part consists of fold mountains: the Tien Shan and Pamir-Alai systems. They formed in the Palaeozoic, were worn down almost flat over a long time, and were then uplifted again by recent (neotectonic) movements. These movements continue today, which explains the region’s seismicity — for example the Tashkent (1966) and Gazli (1976, 1984) earthquakes. Residual mountains on the plains are unworn remnants of ancient ranges; ancient igneous and metamorphic rocks are exposed in them, so they are rich in ores.
§2. Plains
About four-fifths of the territory is plains
The Kyzylkum is a sandy desert between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya; among its barchans and hummocky sands rise residual mountains (Tamdytau, Bukantau, Auminzatau, Kuldzhuktau) holding the most valuable ores.
The Ustyurt is a plateau between the Aral and the Caspian; its surface is an undulating plain with central depressions, ending at the edges in steep escarpments — chinks. Steppe in the north, semi-desert in the south.
The Lower Amu Darya (delta) plain is built of river sediments and holds the Khorezm and Karakalpak oases.
Mirzachul (Golodnaya Steppe) lies on the left bank of the Syr Darya; the Karshi Steppe in the lower Kashkadarya.
The lowest point is the Mingbulak Depression in the Kyzylkum (−12 m), below sea level.
The plains are covered with sand, clay and gravel; wind is the main relief-shaping force (barchans), while rivers create valleys and deltas.
Worked example
Uzbekistan covers 448,900 km², about 4/5 of it plains. Roughly how large is the area of plains?
Convert the fraction: 4/5 = 0.8.
Area: 448.9 · 0.8 ≈ 359 thousand km².
Answer: about 359,000 km² of plains; the remaining 90,000 km² or so is mountains and foothills.
§3. Mountains
Western Tien Shan (north-east): the Chatkal, Kurama, Pskem and Ugam ranges. The highest peak of the Kurama Range is Baba-Ob. The Akhangaran valley lies between the Chatkal and Kurama ranges, and the rivers of the Chirchik basin flow between the Chatkal and Pskem.
Western Pamir-Alai (south-east): the Turkestan, Zarafshan and Hissar ranges, Baysuntau and Kugitang. Khazret Sultan (4,643 m) in the Hissar Range is Uzbekistan’s highest point.
The Nuratau and Malguzar mountains are the western continuation of the Turkestan Range, sloping down towards the Kyzylkum.
Altitudinal belts are clear in the mountains: adyr foothills → middle mountains (forest) → high mountains (meadows, snow and glaciers). The mountains are the source of rivers and offer pastures, minerals and places for recreation.
Worked example
Uzbekistan’s highest point is Khazret Sultan (4,643 m) and its lowest the Mingbulak Depression (−12 m). What is the difference in height?
Difference = highest − lowest.
4,643 − (−12) = 4,643 + 12 = 4,655 m.
Answer: 4,655 m.
§4. Intermontane basins and valleys
The Fergana Valley is the largest intermontane basin, ringed by the Kurama and Chatkal ranges to the north-west, the Fergana Range to the north-east and the Alai and Turkestan ranges to the south; it opens only to the west through the narrow "Khujand Gate". Adyr foothills fringe it; sands and salt flats lie in the centre.
The Zarafshan basin lies between the Turkestan and Zarafshan ranges.
The Kashkadarya basin lies west of the Hissar Range.
The Surkhandarya basin is enclosed by the Hissar, Baysuntau and Kugitang mountains and open to the south.
The basins have fertile land built from the sediments of mountain rivers, enough water and a sheltered climate, so they hold ancient oases and the densest populations.
Worked example
Climbers descended the southern slope of the Chatkal Range, crossed a river and climbed the northern slope of the Kurama Range to Baba-Ob. Which river did they cross?
The Chatkal Range is to the north and the Kurama to the south, with a valley between them.
Natural gas: Shurtan and Mubarek (Kashkadarya), Gazli (Bukhara) and the Ustyurt fields; oil: Kokdumalak and the Fergana Valley (Mingbulak field).
Coal: Angren (brown coal), Shargun and Baysun (hard coal).
Chemical raw materials: potash salts at Tyubegatan, table salt at Barsakelmes, phosphorites at Jeroy-Sardara.
Building materials: marble (Gazgan), limestone, gypsum.
The pattern: ores (metals) in residual and fold mountains; fuels and salts in the sedimentary layers of plains and basins
The pattern follows from geological history: ores are linked to magma and are found in mountains where ancient rocks are exposed, while oil, gas and salts accumulated in the sediments of ancient seas.
§6. Relief and human activity
Relief affects the economy in many ways. Plains and valleys suit farming and the building of towns and roads; mountains are barriers to transport (pass roads and tunnels are built) but are rich in pastures, hydropower and tourism. People also change the relief: open-pit mines and spoil heaps, canals and reservoirs, levelled fields. In seismic areas buildings are made earthquake-resistant, and on mountain slopes the risk of landslides and mudflows is taken into account.
§7. Hazardous relief processes
Because the mountains are still rising and the slopes are steep, Uzbekistan experiences several hazardous processes:
Earthquakes, mainly in the eastern mountains and foothills; the focus of the 1966 Tashkent earthquake lay under the city at a shallow depth, so many buildings were destroyed. The Gazli earthquakes showed that strong shocks can also strike the plains.
Mudflows (sel) — torrents of mud and stones in mountain and adyr gullies in spring and early summer after downpours and snowmelt; they damage roads, bridges and villages.
Landslides and rockfalls — the sliding of waterlogged soil and rock on steep slopes.
Protection includes mapping seismic hazard and earthquake-resistant construction, mudflow reservoirs and dams, planting trees on slopes and restricting building in dangerous places.
Check yourself
Uzbekistan’s highest point?
The lowest point?
What is mined at Muruntau?
Which plateau is bounded by chinks?
Which mountains are the Almalyk deposits linked to?
Why are gas fields found on the plains?
A peak is 3,769 m and the valley 1,000 m. Relative height?
Between which ranges is the Zarafshan basin?
Common mistakes
Putting Khazret Sultan in the Chatkal Range — it is in the Hissar Range.
Placing Muruntau in the Fergana Valley — it is in the Kyzylkum.
Describing the Ustyurt as a sandy desert — it is a plateau.
Confusing the Mingbulak Depression (Kyzylkum) with the Mingbulak oil field (Fergana).
Forgetting the sign when subtracting a negative height: 4,643 − (−12) = 4,655.