The wildlife of Turkmenistan is the flora and fauna of Turkmenistan, and the natural habitats in which they live. Turkmenistan is a country in Central Asia to the east of the Caspian Sea. Two thirds of the country is hot dry plains and desert, and the rest is more mountainous. Very little rain falls in summer and the chief precipitation occurs in the southern part of the country in the winter and spring. The Caspian coast has milder winters. The desert sees limited plant growth in the winter, with grasses and xeric plants and shrubs sprouting, and with the arrival of spring, the rains encourage the growth and flowering of ephemeral plants. The mountains in the south of the country are covered in shrublike and juniper woodlands, and larger trees grow in the gullies and river valleys. A wide range of animals are found in Turkmenistan, including 91 species of mammal, 82 species of reptile and nearly 400 species of bird. A number of nature reserves and sanctuaries have been created for the preservation of the natural landscapes and the conservation of the wildlife. Geography Turkmenistan has an area of nearly . Iran and Afghanistan lie to the south, Uzbekistan lies to the north-east and Kazakhstan to the north-west, and it has a long coastline on the Caspian Sea to the west. Most of the surface is flat, rolling, sandy terrain forming the Karakum Desert. To the southwest of the country, on the border with Iran, lies the Kopet Dag Range of mountains. This region is characterized by foothills, dry and sandy slopes, mountain plateaus and steep ravines; here the highest point is Mount Şahşah . The land also rises in the southeastern corner of the country towards the mountain ranges of Afghanistan. At the extreme east of Turkmenistan is the Köýtendag Range with the highest mountain in the country, Mount Aýrybaba (). The Murghab River and the Tejen River flow from Afghanistan but peter out in the Karakum Desert. The Atrek River is a shorter river flowing from Iran, but only reaching the Caspian Sea in time of flood. The Amudarya River flows northwestwards near the border with Uzbekistan before emptying into the remnants of the Aral Sea. Garabogazköl gulf is a large shallow lagoon that is sometimes connected to the Caspian Sea and has a much higher salinity, surpassing the far-famed hypersaline lake of the Dead Sea. With