The Altun Shan Reserve is an elongated triangular area on the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert, just south of the Tarim Basin. The reserve occupies the V-shaped region between the southern slopes of the Altun Shan range on the north and the northern slopes of the Kulun mountain range on the south. The eastern third of the reserve is the Komkul Basin, an arid plateau at an altitude of 4,500 meters. The reserve measures about 800 km west-east, and 200 km north-south. There are no permanent towns or roads in the area.