images

Aral sea seen from space. 08/1997

by

Nasa/Novapix

Reference

t-askaz-00001

Date

2006-09-21

Once the fourth largest inland body of water in the world, the Aral Sea, as seen in this southeast-looking view, has shrunk to a fraction of its former size and is now the eighth largest inland body of water in the world. Water has been diverted to cotton irrigation since the late 1950's from the two rivers that feed the Aral Sea, the Amu-Darya in the south, and the Syr-Darya in the northeast. Image taken from the space shuttle Discovery in August 1997.