Gumdag
Gumdag (romanized Russian Kum Dag) is a city with district status in Balkan Province, Turkmenistan. It is located 43 km southeast of the city of Balkanabat. The city is home to the Gumdag oil and gas field. Etymology. The name is derived from two words in Turkmen, "gum" ("sand") and "dag" ("mountain, hill"). Atanyyazow postulates that the name came from the sand hill 3 km to the west where the first oil well in the area was drilled. History. Before Gumdag was established, the settlement was called Hudaý-Dag, Bahangoşa and Monjuklu. Gumdag was founded as a village in  the 1930s by nomadic families from nearby settlements. In the same years, a well-drilling machine was installed by the government on the sand hill 3 km west of the village. With the development of oil production from the region, people from Balkanabat and other cities started to flock here. From 1951 to 1956, it was attached to the Ashgabat region. Population. 1959 - 9,237 1970 - 11,615 1979 - 14,449 1989 - 16,529 2009 - 26,831 2021 - 33,000 "(estimated)"