Karakum Canal: description, history of construction, photo

What is a water channel? It is an artificial flow, created for any purpose. It can be irrigation of land, redirection of current or reduction of routes. Some water channels were used by tourists as a resting place. Here are beautiful landscapes, clean air, many birds. There are two reasons for creating channels: the transfer of water resources or cargo. As a rule, most of these reservoirs are navigable.

The channel called Karakumsky is very important for the state. It comes in several parts.

Description

In 1988, in the Soviet Union was commissioned a unique hydrotechnical facility - the Karakum Canal. The length of the stream was 1,450 kilometers, and it connected the recalcitrant Amu Darya River (locally called Jeyhun) and the Caspian Sea. In the world there are no analogues in terms of complexity, design solutions and difficulties in operation due to the extreme natural conditions of the Karakum desert expanses.

Reasons for building a channel

More than thirty years (since 1954) the construction of the Karakum Canal was conducted, the time of its creation united the epochs of Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev and attracted representatives of 32 nationalities from 250 cities of the Soviet Union. Each region of a huge country considered it its duty to send special materials, equipment and other necessary assistance for a gigantic all-union project.

The problem of water supply to the arid regions of Turkmenistan has been standing for a long time. This was the most significant task of his time. But to deploy the waters of the disobedient, obstinate river and to let them through the vast sands of the desert can only be made by a strong and economically developed state.

Building

The Karakum Canal was built in several stages, each of which connected certain localities with the water flow. The first branch of the canal, from the Amudarya River to the city of Murghab, was laid in 1959. It was about 400 km long. An important result of the construction of the first stage of the water flow is the possibility of putting into circulation new irrigated lands with an area of more than 1000 sq. M. Km. The next section passed through the town of Tejen. It amounted to a length of about 140 km, allowed to provide water to 700 square meters. Km and support an additional 30 thousand hectares of irrigated fields.

To the capital of Turkmenistan Ashgabat the Karakum Canal was held in 1962. By this time its length was almost 800 km. The area of newly irrigated land along the whole flow direction has reached about 3000 square meters. Km.

During this period the construction of the canal was suspended and only in 1971 it resumed again. The builders began to build the fourth branch, which had the direction of Ashgabat-Beriket. At the same time, the Kopetdag dam and the reservoir of the same name were erected.

The further destiny of the channel

Later, the designers of the Karakum Canal were divided into two directions. One branch stretched to the south-western region of Turkmenistan to the settlement of Atrek and was 270 km in length. The second branch headed to the city of Nebit-Dag. The last section of the canal passes through pipes and supplies water to the former Krasnovodsk (modern Turkmenbashi).

Already in the period of modern history, at the beginning of the 21st century, the builders of independent Turkmenistan erected the largest reservoir in the region - the Zeydskoye, in order to defend and clarify the water.

Due to the constant sand storms at the corners of the canal, where banks often crash, all year round works are carried out by special operating organizations for supervision and provision, the Karakum Canal is so complicated. The history of this building is really interesting.