Turkmenistan (TM) Balkan Province

Image: Garabogazköl is a large depression about the size of New Jersey. Water from the Caspian sea enters through a channel in the sandbar across the mouth and evaporates, making Garabogazköl a shallow and extremely saline body of water. Between 1980 and 1992 Garabogazköl was entirely dried out by artificial blockage of the inflow, which reportedly caused salt and sand storms hundreds of miles downwind. By 1995, when this image was taken, Garabogazköl had been refilled.

Summary

Balkanabat, the capital, is a city with a population of 110 000. The major towns of Türkmenbaşy (80 000), Serdar (50 000), and Gumdag (20 000) are also in the province.

Detailed Analysis

Balkan Province (Balkan welaýaty) has an area of 138 500 km² and a population of about 500 000 (2004 estimate). It is divided into 7 cities: Balkanabat (114 575 as Nebit-Dag in 1989), Bereket (in Kazandzhikskiy region in 1989), Garabogaz (in Krasnovodskiy region in 1989), Gumdag (part of Balkanabat in 1989), Hazar (15 332 as Cheleken in 1989), Serdar (33 388 as Kyzyl-Arvat in 1989), and Türkmenbaşy (62 601 as Krasnovodsk in 1989), and 6 districts: Bereket (28 394 including city as Kazandzhikskiy region in 1989), Esenguly, Etrek, Magtymguly, Serdar, and Türkmenbaşy (29 443 including Garabogaz city as Krasnovodskiy region in 1989). In 1989, Magtymguly and Serdar regions were reported as Kyzyl-Arvatskiy region (33 405) and Esenguly and Atrek regions as Kyzyl-Atrekskiy region (38 358). In the 1989 census, the population of the territory of Balkan Province was 355 496.

Esenguly (5 823 as Gasan-Kuly) in Esenguly district has an area of 2.0 km² and an estimated population of 7 000.
Etrek (6 855 as Kyzyl-Atrek in 1989 census) in Etrek district has an area of 2.6 km² and an estimated population of 8 000.
Madav (Мадав) has an area of 2.7 km² and an estimated population of 8 000.
Sharlouk (Шарлоук) has an area of 1.9 km² and an estimated population of 6 000.
Magtymguly (8 412 as Kara-Kala in 1989 census) in Magtymguly district has an area of 2.1 km² and an estimated population of 7 000.
Türkmenbaşy (58 854 in 1989 census) has an area of 8.0 km² and an estimated population of 80 000.
Garabogaz (6 895 as Bekdash in 1989 census) has an area of 1.2 km² and an estimated population of 9 000.
Balkanabat--Dzhebel (Джебел, 7 697 in 1989 census) has an area of 2.0 km² and an estimated population of 8 000.
Balkanabat (86 314 in 1989 census), probably surrounded by Bereket district, has an area of 12.5 km² and an estimated population of 110 000.
Cheleken (Челекен, 13 865 in 1989 census) has an area of 1.7 km² and an estimated population of 10 000.
Bereket (14 424 as Kazandzhik in 1989 census) in Bereket district has an area of 3.7 km² and an estimated population of 14 000.
Gumdag (16 529 in 1989 census) has an area of 4.8 km² and an estimated population of 20 000.
Serdar (33 388 in 1989 census) has an area of 9.2 km² and an estimated population of 50 000.