Overview
The Aral Sea lies between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan [45'0'0*N, 59'56'50*E]. Around forty years ago Muynak was a very busy fishing port when the waters reached the shoreline and went back into the belly of the sea. What was the fourth biggest sea, is now made up mostly of desert.
Geology & Morphology
The area around the Aral Sea is what once used to be part of the sea. This is because the water coming in from the Syr Darya and Amu Darya has been blocked. The Aral Sea is decreasing in size dramatically and will soon become a desert. If we had not blocked the passage, the Aral Sea would be rising now. The Caspian Sea has risen 2 meters since 1977 because of increased rainfall and decreased evaporation.
Significance
The Aral Sea is decreasing dramatically because of cotton farming. This is what is blocking the water flow. There used to be over 40,000 tons of fish in 24 different species that fishermen fished in 1 year but now there is less fishing and there are 4 species left. The white sand is actually salt that has been blown from the Himalayas over to the Sea.
Threats
Severe shrinkage of the once ample Sea has changed the climate and livelihood of million of people. People have diverted some of the water flow into the sea so there could be more cotton farming. Many species of fish have died and many fisherman have lost jobs. Chemicals have been dumped into the sea and are now rising to the top and being blown onto the towns. More people are getting sick and dieing.
