What is the meaning of the word Takla Makan?
The Taklamakan Desert, also known as Taklimakan and Teklimakan, is a desert in the southwest portion of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwest China. Popular accounts claim that Takla Makan means “go in and you will never come out”. It may also mean “The point of no return” or “The Desert of Death”.
What was the Taklamakan Desert called?
Interesting facts about the Taklamakan Desert Nicknamed, ‘The Sea of Death’, the Taklamakan is the second largest non-polar sand-shifting desert in the world. It is thought that the name ‘Taklamakan’ was derived from the Uighur language, in which it means ‘you can get in, but you can’t get out’.
Why is Xinjiang a desert?
Because it lies in the rain shadow of the Himalayas, Taklamakan has a cold desert climate. Given its relative proximity with the cold to frigid air masses in Siberia, extreme temperatures are recorded in wintertime, sometimes well below −20 °C (−4 °F), while in summer they can rise up to 40 °C (104 °F).
Where is the Taklamakan?
northwest China
The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China is a vast region of sand desert sitting in a depression between two high, rugged mountain ranges. Rolling sand dunes stretch out over several hundred thousand square miles in the Xinjiang Region of China.
How is the Gobi desert different from the Taklamakan desert?
The Takla Makan Desert is located in western China. It has a milder climate than the Gobi, and there are some water sources and areas of vegetation. However, the size of the desert and its large dunes still limited travel. These two deserts provided China with a natural defense against outside forces.
Where is Takla Makan located?
The Takla Makan occupies the central part of the Tarim Basin in the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, western China. The desert area extends about 600 miles (960 km) from west to east, and it has a maximum width of some 260 miles (420 km) and a total area of approximately 123,550 square miles (320,000 square km).
What does Taklamakan mean?
The Taklamakan Desert ( / ˌtæk.lə.məˈkæn /; Chinese: 塔克拉玛干沙漠; pinyin: Tǎkèlāmǎgān Shāmò, Xiao’erjing: تَاكْلامَاقًا شَاموْ , Dungan: Такәламаган Шамә; Uighur: تەكلىماكان قۇملۇقى; also spelled Taklimakan and Teklimakan) is a desert in Southwest Xinjiang in Northwest China.
What is the etymology of the word Takla?
While most researchers agree on makan being the Persian word for “place”, etymology of Takla is less clear. The word may be an Uyghur borrowing of the Persian tark, “to leave alone/out/behind, relinquish, abandon” + makan.
What is the surface of Takla Makan composed of?
The surface of the Takla Makan is composed of friable alluvial deposits several hundred feet thick. This alluvial stratum has been affected by the wind, and its wind-borne sand cover is as much as 1,000 feet thick. The relief consists of a variety of eolian (wind-formed) topographic features and variously shaped sand dunes.