Karagiye Depression

Karagiye is a closed basin east of the Caspian whose floor lies about 132 metres below sea level, which places it among the deepest dry depressions anywhere, below the Caspian's own surface level and formed by tectonic subsidence and salt dissolution rather than by erosion. It runs some eighty-five kilometres long and up to twenty-five wide, with the edge dropping sharply from the plateau to a floor of salt flat, clay and scrub where temperatures in summer run considerably higher than on the rim. The name refers in Kazakh to a black slope or black mouth. Viewpoints on the escarpment above the Zhanaozen road give the view across it, and tracks descend to the floor.

The landscape

• The escarpment edge - the drop from the plateau into the basin.
• The basin floor - salt flat, clay and scrub well below sea level.
• The scale - a depression some eighty-five kilometres long seen from the rim.
• Heat haze - the shimmer over the floor in the warmer months.

When to go

April to May and September to October; summer temperatures in the basin are extreme. Early morning gives clearer air over the floor. Spring can bring brief flowering on the slopes.

Before you go

Visually it is a broad shallow basin rather than a canyon, and the depth is not obvious to the eye. There is no viewing infrastructure, signage or facilities. Descending to the floor needs a capable vehicle. Heat and lack of water are serious in summer.

Nearby

Aktau lies northwest; Zhanaozen is southeast.

Key facts