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Syr Darya

(Encyclopedia)Syr Darya or Syrdarya both: sēr däryäˈ, –därˈyə [key], ancient Jaxartes or Yaxartes, Pers. Sihun, river, c.1,380 mi (2,220 km) long, flowing through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. On...

Turpan

(Encyclopedia)Turpan to͝orˈfänˈ [key], town and oasis (1994 est. pop. 64,300), in the Turpan depression (c.5,000 sq mi/12,950 sq km), E Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. It is an agricultural center prod...

Tarim

(Encyclopedia)Tarim dārēmˈ [key], Mandarin Dayan, chief river of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, NW China, c.1,300 mi (2,090 km) long, formed by the union of the Aksu and the Yarkant rivers at the western end ...

Dzungaria

(Encyclopedia)Dzungaria jo͝ongˈgärˈ [key], physical region (c.300,000 sq mi/777,000 sq km) of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, NW China. It is a largely steppe and semidesert basin surrounded by high mountains...

Gobi

(Encyclopedia)Gobi gōˈbē [key], Mandarin Yintai shamo, great stony desert of N central Asia, c.500,000 sq mi (1,295,000 sq km), extending c.1,000 mi (1,610 km) from east to west across SE Mongolia and N China fr...

Pamir

(Encyclopedia)Pamir pəmērˈ, pä– [key] or Pamirs, mountainous region of central Asia, located mainly in Tajikistan and extending into NE Afghanistan and SW Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China; called the ...

Changbai

(Encyclopedia)Changbai or Changpai both: chängˈbīˈ [key], mountain range, largely in NE China and partly in North Korea; Mt. Paektu, also called Changbai Shan or Baitou Shan (9,003 ft/2,744 m), is the highest p...

Zhongshan

(Encyclopedia)Zhongshan shĕˈkēˈ [key], town (1994 est. pop. 341,200), S Guangdong prov., SE China, near Macau. It is situated on Zhongshan island (sometimes called Macau island), and has sugar refineries. Sun Y...

Zhoushan Archipelago

(Encyclopedia)Zhoushan Archipelago jō-shän [key], NE Zhejiang prov., China, in the East China Sea, at the entrance to Hangzhou Bay. It includes the main island of Zhoushan and about 100 lesser islands; Dinghai on...

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