A huge part of the Republic of Uzbekistan is located between two great Central Asian rivers located in the north and south of the country: the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya. The length of the Syrdarya River is 2137 km, the total length of the Amu Darya River is 1,437 kilometers. Both of these rivers take their origin outside Uzbekistan, high in the mountains, both flow in the direction of the north-west and flow into the Aral Sea. The Syr Darya was formed as a result of the confluence of the Kara Darya and Naryn rivers, the parents of the Amu Darya were the Pyanj and Vakhsh rivers. The Syr Darya significantly exceeds the Amu Darya in length, but is inferior in water content.
SYRDARYA AND AMUDARYA
Thus, these two large rivers create two huge river basins of Central Asia: Syrdarya and Amudarya. The Syrdarya basin includes such rivers as the Kara Darya, Ahangaran, Chirchik, Akbura, Nargha, Sokh, Isfara, Shahimardan, Kasansay, Gavasay and some others. The Amu Darya basin includes rather large rivers, such as the Kashkadarya, Surkhandarya, Zarafshan, Sherabad and Tupolang Darya. In the conditions of our hot summer, many rivers dry up, since the lion’s share of water is used for irrigation purposes for irrigating agricultural land. The irrigation of Karakalpakstan and the Khorezm oasis is a priority. Some of the water is taken from the river into the Amudarya Canal, for subsequent irrigation of the territory of the Kashkadarya and Bukhara oases.
ARAL SEA
This is a large salt lake in Uzbekistan, located on the border with Kazakhstan in the north-west of the country. The reduction of its area and inexorable drying is a global problem. Already in the 1980s and 1990s, it began to decrease catastrophically. The main reason for this fact was the unreasonable use of the rivers flowing into it to irrigate land. As a result, the coastline of the Aral Sea in 1998 retreated in some places up to 80 kilometers! Thus, the Aral Sea broke up into three reservoirs.
RIVERS OF UZBEKISTAN
During the thawing of seasonal snows and the main runoff of Uzbek rivers is formed. Glacial and rainwater affect their full depth slightly. Groundwater is of much greater importance, especially in the winter season. The largest arteries of the Republic of Uzbekistan are the Syr Darya and Amu Darya. Two of these rivers have long been considered the source of nobility, prosperity and well-being of the whole country. Because it is impossible to imagine the existence of each of us without water. Water is life!