Central Asia peoples of the vast region. Central Asia is sometimes referred to as Turkestan. There are several places that claim to be the geographic center of Asia, for example Kyzyl, the capital of Tuva in the Russian Federation, and a village north of Ürümqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region of China. Central Asia is an extremely large region of varied geography, including high passes and mountains (Tian Shan), vast deserts (Kyzyl Kum, Taklamakan), and especially treeless, grassy steppes. The vast steppe areas of Central Asia are considered together with the steppes of Eastern Europe as a homogeneous geographical zone known
Depopulation of the Great Plains began in the early 1900s, accelerated in the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s, and has generally continued through the most recent national census in 2010. The population decline has been broadly attributed to numerous factors, especially changes in agricultural practices, rapid improvements in urban transit and regional connectivity, and a steadily faltering rural job market. Definitions vary as to what land comprises the Great Plains, but the Plains are generally agreed to consist of all or part of ten states: Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. The eastern boundary is about