Garabogaz is a city in Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...

, part of the Balkan Province

Balkan Province

Balkan Province is one of the Welayat of Turkmenistan. It is in the far west of the country, bordering Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, and Iran. Its capital is Balkanabat, formerly known as Nebit Dag. It has an area of 139,270 square kilometers and a population of approximately 553,500...

. Until 2002 it was named Bekdaş [Bake-dash].

Located on a ridge which divides the Garabogazköl

Garabogazköl

The Garabogazköl Aylagy, alternatively the Kara-Bogaz-Gol is a shallow inundated depression in the northwestern corner of Turkmenistan. It forms a lagoon of the Caspian Sea with a surface area of about...

 lagoon from the Caspian Sea

Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...

, the city is richly blessed by the abundant and varied mineral resources of the Garabogazköl

Garabogazköl

The Garabogazköl Aylagy, alternatively the Kara-Bogaz-Gol is a shallow inundated depression in the northwestern corner of Turkmenistan. It forms a lagoon of the Caspian Sea with a surface area of about...

. It is one of few places in the world where naturally deposited sodium sulphate exists in commercially exploitable quantities.