Gurbantünggüt Desert Gurbantünggüt Desert The Gurbantünggüt Desert (; ) occupies a large part of the Dzungarian Basin in northern Xinjiang, in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is also called by some sources as Dzoosotoyn Elisen Desert, presumably from a Mongolian language. It is approximately 50,000 square kilometers (19,000 mi²), and located around 300 to 600 meters above sea level. It is China's (and Xinjiang's) second largest desert, after Taklamakan Desert, which is located in the Tarim Basin. A remote, arid, and rugged area, Gurbantünggüt Desert is separated by the Tian Shan mountains from the Ili River Basin, Turfan
God's Own Country documents from God's own country) which also mockingly characterized the USA with the phrase. Several modern German newspapers such as Die Welt, Der Tagesspiegel and Die Zeit have also used the phrase ""Gottes eigenes Land"" (God's own country) to criticize American culture and society. The earliest recorded use of the phrase as applied to New Zealand was as the title of a poem about New Zealand written by Thomas Bracken. It was published in a book of his poems in 1890, and again in 1893 in a book entitled "Lays and Lyrics: God's Own Country and Other Poems." God's Own