Mary

Mary, oblast (province), southeastern Turkmenistan. Mary city, in the centre of the province, is its administrative centre.

The province includes the basin of the Morghāb River, which diminishes in the Karakum Desert in the north. In the south, on the Afghanistan frontier, are spurs of the Selseleh-ye Safīd Kūh (Paropamisus Mountains). The climate is continental and dry.

The economy is based on irrigated agriculture, particularly cotton cultivation, in the Morghāb oasis and along the Karakum Canal; the breeding of Karakul sheep in the desert; and the Shatlyk natural gas deposit, which is one of the largest in Central Asia and the entire continent. In addition to Mary, the other cities in the province include Bayramaly, Yolöten, and Gushgy. Area 33,649 square miles (87,150 square km). Pop. (2005 est.) 1,480,400.