Once one of the main centers of the Great Silk Road, the Republic of Uzbekistan today looks very attractive for tourist trips. It has perfectly preserved ancient architectural monuments and historical sights, and for those who respect oriental cuisine, Uzbekistan offers its culinary masterpieces. In order to see the sea of Uzbekistan, you will have to hurry up and go to the border with Kazakhstan, where the Aral Lake still exists.
The brilliance and poverty of the Aral Sea
Once upon a time when asked which sea washed Uzbekistan, local residents proudly answered - the Aral Sea. It could be attributed to the most unique reservoirs of the planet:
- The Aral Sea is in fact a lake and before the start of shallowing it had the fourth largest area among the world's lakes.
- More than 20 million years ago, the Aral Sea was connected to the Caspian Sea, and the Turgai River was one of the rivers flowing into it.
- There was shipping on the Aral Sea. The very first steamer was brought here in 1852.
- At the beginning of the 20th century, industrial fishing began in the Aral Sea.
- The greatest depth of the Aral Sea at that time was almost 70 meters.
- The sea area of Uzbekistan at the end of the 19th century was equal to 68 thousand square meters. km.
Theoretically, you can find out which sea is in Uzbekistan from atlases and maps, but in fact, the Aral Lake has lost its former abundance and beauty due to shallowing. As a result of the desert irrigation program launched in the 30s of the last century, the rivers feeding the Aral began to give their water to the fields, and the sea level began to decrease rapidly. Today, the sea surface area has decreased five times compared to 1960, and the salinity of the water has increased more than ten times. This caused not only the death of most of the fish population, but also climate change in the region. Local residents note that winters have now become significantly longer and colder, the amount of precipitation has decreased, and temperature indicators in summer have increased significantly.
Modern geography
Today, the Aral Sea has lost most of its waters and actually split into two separate bodies of water. The North Sea is smaller, while the South Sea is slightly larger. The Northern Aral remains a place of fishing, but this fishery has a completely different scale.
Archaeologists have discovered interesting rarities and remnants of settlements at the bottom of the Aral Sea. They date the finds to the 11th century and suggest that among them are the ruins of the Kerderi mausoleum.
