Ustyurt Plateau

Hovering above the 56th degree longitude line, the Ustyurt Plateau is found along the border between KAZAKHSTAN and UZBEKISTAN. It is less than 200 miles east of the Caspian Sea, the world's largest inland water body/lake that is completely surrounded by land. The plateau is in the southwestern part of Kazakhstan and western Uzbekistan. The Ustyurt is not very high in elevation - in fact, it is barely above sea level - which defies the typical perception of what a plateau is. However, the land is higher than the surrounding area, especially compared to land in the northwest (Kazakhstan) where there is a depression below sea level.