Takla Makan Desert

The Takla Makan is flanked by high mountain ranges: the Tien Shan in the north, the Kunlun Mountains in the south, and the Pamirs in the west. There is a gradual transition to the Lop Nor basin in the east, and, in the south and west, between the sandy desert and the mountains, lies a band of sloping desert lowland composed of pebble-detritus deposits.