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Central Asia)
Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east, and from southern Russia in the north to Afghanistan in the south.
[edit] Understand
It is also sometimes known as Middle Asia or Inner Asia, and is within the scope of the wider Eurasian continent. This Central Asia is most notable for being home to the 'stans': Rugged countries with limited arable land, historically coveted for their position between Europe and East Asia. This region is an area that was, until recently, inaccessible for independent travelers. That has all changed, although the traveler will still often come up against a wall of Soviet-style bureaucracy. Central Asia is an interesting region and is also an extremely large region of varied geography, including high passes and mountains (Tian Shan), vast deserts (Kara Kum, Kyzyl Kum, Taklamakan), and especially treeless, grassy steppes. The vast steppe areas of Central Asia are considered together with the steppes of Eastern Europe as a homogenous geographical zone known as the Euro-Asian Steppe.
[edit] Countries
Due to culture and history, however, Iran, Mongolia, Western China (Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai & Western Sichuan), parts of Russia (Buryatia, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Tuva, Altai, Khakassia) and parts of Pakistan are often included.
