Hilly Sands

sands that accumulate in the form of round or oblong mounds near shrubs. Two types of hilly sands are distinguished: loose drifting sands (“heaped sands,” or chagyl), which form around shrubs of the genus Nitraria (up to 1 .5 m high), and consolidated mounds (Turkmen tommok, Uzbek chokolak) that are found near bushes of the genus Tamarix (10-14 m high). Hilly sands are particularly widespread in the deserts of Central Asia, primarily along the bottom margins of foothill plains, in areas of fresh and brackish groundwater deposits (at a depth of 3-5 m). The term “hilly sands” was formerly applied to all relief forms of semiovergrown sands.