Aral Lake: the sea that asks for help

The Aral Sea, once called the sea, can be found to the east of the Caspian. It occupied a space of 65,781 square kilometers. Km, and this without taking into account the islands that are located on the water's surface. Why did he occupy? Yes, because its area is gradually decreasing, the water evaporates, and in the coastal zone, where life once boiled, desert reigns. It is possible to save a body of water, but this requires the common efforts of the countries that are related to this water body, as well as the help of the whole world.

Some general information

The beautiful blue color of the water in the sea and a large number of islands - these are the features of the Aral Lake. By area it is the second reservoir in the world with salt water, but still the level of the mineral in it is much less than in the ocean. The depth of the water body is small - a maximum of 75 m, and its average value barely reaches fifteen meters.

Since the sixties of the last century, the amount of water in the lake has decreased dramatically: it evaporates more than rivers and precipitation. Steep banks of the reservoir, washed before the stormy waves, look from a height to the water surface: now the water does not reach them even in a storm. The southern bay of Aibugir, which was impossible to wade, is now completely dry.

Where is the Aral Lake?

If people make an effort, the reservoir will be saved and revived. And if not, then in Asia, where this sea is located, there will be a desert with salty sand, which is very dangerous for humans. And the Aral Lake our descendants will consider something mythical, akin to Atlantis.

The reservoir occupies part of the territory of Kazakhstan and part of Uzbekistan. Before the shallowing, it was listed as the fourth largest lake on the planet, fishing vessels were sailing in it, fish bases and factories worked on its shores. Now only the cemetery of abandoned and rusted ships reminds of the former prosperity of the region.

Scientists have found that the water level in the lake has been constantly falling from time immemorial. Approximately 21 million years ago the Aral Sea was connected to the Caspian Sea, somewhere in the 16th and 17th centuries islands were formed on it, and at the beginning of the nineteenth century, Zhanadarya and Kuandarya stopped flowing into the Aral Lake. Today, a drainless pond has only two tributaries - the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, fresh waters of which are actively used for irrigation of fields.

A few more facts

Today, the Aral Sea consists of three parts. On which continent it is located, we have already found out. In 1989, the reservoir was divided into the Small and the Great Seas, and in 2003 most of it broke up into the eastern and western zones. At the same time, Kazakhstan begins work to conserve the lake and ecosystem. It erects a dam that does not allow water to flow, but neighboring Uzbekistan is not ready to allocate money to support its part of the Aral Sea.

But do not think that the problem of the Aral Sea is only local. Of course, local residents suffer from sand and salt, among which a record number of cancer is recorded. But the wind blows dust far beyond the desert Aralkum (the so-called dried up bottom of the reservoir). Sand found in Japan and Scandinavia. Therefore, this is a real ecological catastrophe in the whole modern world.

Why should the Aral be protected?

The residual origin of the Aral Lake is a generally accepted fact. But it's worth to make sure that this residue does not melt or disappear. After all, life in the whole region depends on it. It is also necessary to protect the sea because it is home to many fish. Although there are few species of it, but there are an uncountable number of individuals. This is due to the fact that the reservoir is shallow, but spacious, so the water warms up well. Its banks are densely overgrown with reeds, and the lower reaches are filled with silt rich in organic substances. And these are ideal conditions for the habitat of fish, which are just freshwater. Among the inhabitants of the Aral Sea are very rare species that are not found anywhere else.

Our ancestors knew about the beautiful Blue Sea and the River Cheese, which flows into it. In the times of Peter the Great, the Aral was inflicted on European geographical maps. In the middle of the nineteenth century, the Raim fortification, a flotilla was being built in the region, and research was beginning. It is necessary to make every effort, it is necessary to draw public attention to the lake problem, because if the Aral disappears from the face of the earth, the Caspian Sea may become the next one.