Taklamakan Desert Map

The Taklamakan Desert is a desert in China, covering about 337,000 km² (130,000 sq mi). This map shows its extent on shaded relief, with the surrounding mountains, rivers, borders and cities.

Taklamakan Desert Map
Taklamakan Desert MapPNG 2000×1144 (847 KB)Taklamakan Desert Map (PDF A4) (406 KB)

How to read this map

The Taklamakan Desert is about 337,000 km² (130,000 sq mi) in area.

The dashed outline marks the Taklamakan Desert as mapped by Natural Earth. Towns and cities on the map include Yarkant County, Aksu, Korla, Kashgar City, Kuqa County, Hotan, Qiemo Town and Naryn.

Greens show lower elevations; tan and brown show higher land, with pale tones toward the highest terrain. Shadows emphasize the slopes, and vertical relief is exaggerated so landforms are easier to read. Dashed lines show country borders.

The relief uses Terrain Tiles (SRTM, GMTED2010 and ETOPO1 elevation data). Rivers, lakes, borders and the outline of the Taklamakan Desert come from Natural Earth, and the figures on this page from Wikidata. Natural Earth draws features at a small scale, so the outline is a guide to where the Taklamakan Desert is, not a surveyed boundary.

Blank physical map

The blank version keeps the mapped features and removes the place labels. Download it for a geography worksheet or practice identifying the features.

Taklamakan Desert Map without names
Blank version of taklamakan desert map.PNG 2000×1144 (858 KB)Taklamakan Desert Map: blank (PDF A4) (394 KB)

Taklamakan Desert facts

FactValue
Length1,000 km (621 mi)
Area337,000 km² (130,000 sq mi)
CountriesChina

Data sources and license

Map design and rendered images: Atlas of Maps, CC BY 4.0. Source databases retain their own licenses; the map license does not replace them.

Maps of the countries: China. Compare with the world mountain ranges map.

Frequently asked questions

How big is the Taklamakan Desert?

About 337,000 km² (130,000 sq mi).

Where is the Taklamakan Desert?

The Taklamakan Desert is in China.

Can I download a blank map of the Taklamakan Desert?

Yes. The blank version keeps the relief, rivers and borders and the highlighted desert but removes the place names. Both versions are free to download as PNG and as an A4 PDF.

Use this map

You can download, print and share this map for free, in class, in school projects, in presentations and on websites, as long as you credit the source: Taklamakan Desert Map · Atlas of Maps (atlasofmaps.com), license CC BY 4.0.

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