The Aral Sea: a lesson in Human-Environment Interaction

The Aral Sea was once the world's fourth-largest salt water lake. It has been steadily shrinking since the 1960s, after the rivers that fed it were diverted by Soviet Union irrigation projects.
The Aral Sea: A Lesson in Human-Environment Interaction

The Aral is an inland salt-water sea with no outlet. It is fed by two rivers, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya. The fresh water from these two rivers held the Aral's water and salt levels in perfect balance.

• The Aral is an inland salt-water sea with no outlet. It is fed by two rivers, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya. The fresh water from these two rivers held the Aral's water and salt levels in perfect balance.
• In the early 1960's, the Soviet central government decided to make the Soviet Union self-sufficient in cotton and increase rice production. Government officials ordered the additional amount of needed water to irrigate these fields be taken from the two rivers that feed the Aral Sea.

Large dams were built across both rivers, and an 850-mile central canal with a far-reaching system of "feeder" canals was created. When the irrigation system was completed, millions of acres along both sides of the main canal were flooded and the water flow was decreased dramatically.

• Large dams were built across both rivers, and an 850-mile central canal with a far-reaching system of "feeder" canals was created. When the irrigation system was completed, millions of acres along both sides of the main canal were flooded and the water flow was decreased dramatically.

It was not until after the construction of the irrigation ditches were completed that problems began to occur. With the loss of the water flow to the Aral Sea, the water level began to drop.
The water level has dropped by 16 meters (40 feet) and the volume has been reduced by 75 percent, a loss equivalent to the water in both Lakes Erie and Huron.

SO MUCH SALT …

• Over the next 30 years, the Aral Sea experienced a severe drop in water level, its shoreline receded, and its salt content increased. The salt content of the lake is now three times what it is in the ocean.