II.

Land and Resources

Uzbekistan is a landlocked country that covers an area of about 447,400 sq km (about 172,700 sq mi). Mountains dominate the landscape in the east and northeast. Several branches of the western Tien Shan and Pamirs-Alai mountain systems cross into Uzbekistan from neighboring Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, with some peaks reaching above 4,000 m (13,000 ft). Areas of eastern Uzbekistan are especially prone to seismic disturbances; in 1966 a strong earthquake destroyed large portions of Toshkent.

To the west of the mountains, Uzbekistan is generally low in elevation. More than two-thirds of Uzbekistan’s territory is covered by desert and steppe (semiarid grassy plains). One of the largest deserts in the world, the Qyzylqum, lies in north central Uzbekistan, and extends into Kazakhstan. In northeastern Uzbekistan, southwest of Toshkent, lies the Mirzachol desert. Across west central Uzbekistan is a vast area of flat plains called the Turan Plain, while additional plains lie south and east of the Qyzylqum. The extreme western portion of the country is occupied by the Ustyurt plateau, an elevated plain with some small mountain ridges and abrupt edges.

A.

Rivers and Lakes

Uzbekistan generally lies between the two largest rivers of Central Asia, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya. These two roughly parallel rivers both have their headwaters in the mountains east of Uzbekistan and follow northwesterly courses toward the Aral Sea, a saltwater lake straddling the border between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Since the early 1960s the Aral Sea has shrunk to less than half its former size, and dry land has separated the remaining water into two main lakes. Uzbekistan’s largest river is the Amu Darya. This river is formed by the confluence of the Panj and Vakhsh rivers on the extreme southwestern border of Tajikistan, near the southeastern tip of Uzbekistan. The Amu Darya traverses a course generally parallel to, and at times part of, Uzbekistan’s southern borders with Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, then turns due north through Uzbekistan’s Qoraqalpogh Autonomous Republic toward the southern section of the Aral Sea. The Syr Darya is formed in the fertile Fergana (Farghona) Valley by the convergence of two rivers flowing from the east, the Naryn and Qoradaryo. The Syr Darya then flows westward through this valley and northern Tajikistan, turns north to cut through Uzbekistan, and enters Kazakhstan, eventually reaching the northern section of the Aral Sea.

Another important river is the Zeravshan, which flows westward from the mountains of Tajikistan through east central Uzbekistan. Before it began to be tapped for irrigation, the Zeravshan was the Amu Darya’s largest tributary; now it dissipates in the Qyzylqum desert near the city of Bukhara (Bukhoro). Uzbekistan has thousands of small streams that expire in the desert, many having been emptied by irrigation.

Extensive canal systems, such as the Amu-Bukhara canal and many others built during the Soviet period, have greatly altered water-flow patterns. Artificial lakes and reservoirs have been created, many of which are fed by irrigation runoff. The largest freshwater lake is Lake Aydarkul, in northeastern Uzbekistan.

B.

Plant and Animal Life

Uzbekistan’s mixed topography provides divergent wildlife habitats. In the steppes the endangered saiga antelope can be found, as well as roe deer, wolves, foxes, and badgers. The desert monitor, a large lizard that can reach lengths of 1.6 m (5 ft), thrives in the Qyzylqum desert, along with a type of gazelle and a number of rodent species. The river deltas are home to wild boars, jackals, and deer, with a variety of pink deer living in the Amu Darya delta. The Turan (or Caspian) tiger is now extinct: The last one was killed in the Amu Darya delta in 1972. The endangered snow leopard, which has long been hunted illegally for its prized fur, lives in the eastern mountains. The mountains also are home to several types of mountain goat, including the Alpine ibex (characterized by enormous, back-curving horns), as well as lynx, wild boars, wolves, and brown bears.

A number of bird species are native to the steppes, including ring-necked pheasants, black grouse, partridges, falcons, and hawks. Eagles and lammergeyers (a type of vulture) nest in the mountainous regions, preying on marmots and mouse hares. Ducks, geese, and other birds migrate through the marshes of the Ustyurt plateau.

Plant life is equally diverse. Drought-resistant grasses and low shrubs cover the steppes, except in areas that have been cleared for crop cultivation. Ancient walnut-tree forests are located in the lower mountains, whereas spruce, larch, and juniper thrive in the higher elevations. Elm and poplar trees grow along riverbanks, along with dense stands of brush called tugai.

C.

Natural Resources

Only 11 percent of the land in Uzbekistan is arable. The richest farmland is found in the river valleys and the alluvial plains at mountain bases. Uzbekistan contains significant mineral wealth. Deposits of gold, uranium, silver, copper, zinc, coal, lead, tungsten, and molybdenum are mined. Uzbekistan also harbors large reserves of oil and natural gas.

D.

Climate

Uzbekistan has a harsh continental climate. Four distinct seasons create great fluctuations in temperature over the course of a year. Average daily temperatures in January range from -6° to 2°C (21° to 36°F) and in July from 26° to 32°C (79° to 90°F), although temperatures can be much more extreme. There are also wide ranges of temperature between day and night. Precipitation is scant, and the long, hot summers are marked by drought, although the only truly arid region in Uzbekistan is the Qyzylqum desert. The wettest months are March and April. Snow is common from December through February, although snow cover often melts within a couple of days.

E.

Environmental Issues

The evaporation of the Aral Sea is one of the worst ecological disasters in the world. The Aral has shrunk so much that it now holds only about one-fifth the volume of water it held in 1960. The shrinkage is due to irrigation withdrawals from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, a practice that began on a massive scale in the early 1960s as part of the Soviet Union’s ill-conceived drive to increase cotton yields in Central Asia. Growing cotton in the naturally arid and saline soil in Central Asia requires excessive irrigation—cotton is a highly water-dependent crop. More than half of the Aral Sea basin is now a dry, salt-encrusted wasteland. The region’s ecosystem was severely degraded as the lake rapidly evaporated and the water flow became scant and intermittent in the two river deltas. Wildlife habitat has been destroyed on a catastrophic scale, and many animal and plant species have become extinct in the area. Windstorms pick up massive amounts of salt and sand from the exposed lake bed and deposit them elsewhere in the vicinity, mainly along the Aral shores, but sometimes as far as 400 km (250 mi) away. This has contributed to desertification, a process that transforms previously arable or habitable land into desert. The salt-laden dust storms, which also contain chemicals such as pesticides, have adversely affected human health: The toxic dust has been linked to respiratory illnesses and certain types of cancer.

Industrial wastes and the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture have contributed to the severe pollution of Uzbekistan’s rivers and lakes. Contaminated drinking water is considered responsible for many human health disorders. Agricultural chemicals, including DDT, also have contaminated the soil in crop-growing areas. In 1992 the government established the State Committee for Environmental Protection. However, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have taken the lead in spearheading environmental initiatives, particularly in regard to conserving and protecting regional water resources.