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Aral Sea:
Refuge to Wasteland
Damming of the Aral Sea
In an effort to irrigate the surrounding deserts, the Soviet government began damming the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers, diverting their waters. The rivers were both tributaries for the Aral Sea, the damming of which caused the sea to virtually disappear over the next few decades.
1985
The Vanishing Sea
Economic Investment to Disaster
The Soviet government's goal was to divert the rivers for the irrigation of
cotton as an attempt at bolstering their economic capabilities. Unfortunately,
they did so without considering how it would impact the region's ecology.
2005
2025
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