Lebap

Lebap Region is one of the regions of Turkmenistan. It is in the northeast of the country, bordering Afghanistan, Uzbekistan along the Amu Darya. Its capital is Turkmenabat. It has an area of 93,727 square kilometers, and a population of 1,334,500 people (2005 est.).The name Lebap is Turkmenized form of the Persian Lab-e ab which means “riverside” and has long been used to designate the middle reaches of the Amu Darya river.Both the Amu Darya and the Karakum Canal, which runs west from the Amu Darya just north of the Afghanistan frontier, are navigable. The climate is continental and very dry, with moderately cold winters and hot summers.

Cotton cultivation and sericulture (raw-silk production) are practiced along the Amu Darya, and Karakul sheep are bred in the surrounding desert. The large Achak natural gas field in the north is linked to the Central Asia Centre gas pipeline; sulfur is mined at Gaurdak and lead at Svintsovy Rudnik in the southeast. Industry is largely concentrated in the capital, Türkmenabat (Chardzhou); the other cities are Gaz Achak and Kerki.