Former harbor area in downtown Aral

Aral, also known as Aralsk or Aral'sk, (Kazakh: Арал, Russian: Аральск) 46°47′N 61°40′E is a small city in south-western Kazakhstan, located in the oblast of Qyzylorda. Population roughly 39,000. Aral was formerly a fishing port and harbour city on the banks of the Aral Sea, and was a major supplier of fish to the neighboring region. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 403 KB)Waterfront of Aral, Kazakhstan, formerly on the banks of the Aral sea. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 403 KB)Waterfront of Aral, Kazakhstan, formerly on the banks of the Aral sea. ... Kazakh, also Kazak, Qazaq, Khazakh, Kosach, and Kaisak (Қазақ тілі in Cyrillic, Qazaq tili in the Latin alphabet, and قازاق تءىلءي in the Arabic alphabet) is a Western Turkic language closely related to Kyrgyz, Nogai and Karakalpak. ... Oblast (Czech: oblast, Slovak: oblasÅ¥, Russian and Ukrainian: , Belarusian: , Bulgarian: о́бласт) refers to a subnational entity in some countries. ... Qyzylorda is a province of Kazakhstan. ... The Aral Sea (Kazakh: Арал Теңізі (Aral Tengizi), Uzbek: , Russian Аральскοе мοре) is a landlocked endorheic sea in Central Asia; it lies between Kazakhstan in the north and Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan, in the south. ...

Since the retreat of the Aral Sea since 1960, due to diversion of the rivers flowing into it for irrigation, mainly of cotton, during the Soviet era, Aral is now completely landlocked about 25 km from the sea, though this is less than the 100km distance observed before the completion of a dam in 2005. Aral has greatly diminished in population and socioeconomic significance. It has been more than 25 years since the Aral Sea could be seen from the town. High-altitude aerial view of irrigation in the Heart of the Sahara ( ) Irrigation is the replacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops or plants. ... Cotton ready for harvest. ... Soviet era is the period of Russian history comprising the years 1917 – 1991, when the power was held by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. ... A landlocked country is one that has no coastline. ... Socioeconomics or Socio-economics is the study of the relationship between economic activity and social life. ...

There are also serious health problems for the local population caused by airborne toxic chemicals exposed to the wind by the retreating waters and, possibly, from chemical and biological agents unsafely stored on islands in the Aral Sea. There is a high level of unemployment. Chemical warfare is warfare (and associated military operations) using the toxic properties of chemical substances to kill, injure or incapacitate an enemy. ... A biological agent is an infectious disease that can be used in bioterrorism or biological warfare. ... An 1837 political cartoon about unemployment in the United States. ...

Like the town of Moynaq to the south of the Aral Sea, it now has discarded rusting fishing boats sitting on what used to be the bed of the Aral Sea. It is speculated that Aral could become a ghosttown. Moynaq (Uzbek: Maynoq; Russian Muynak), is a city in northern Karakalpakstan in western Uzbekistan. ...

External links

• The official website about the Aralsk region in Kazakh, Russian, English and Danish [1]
• Interactive map of the Aral Sea region showing how quickly the waters have retreated. [2]
• News story on the plight of Aralsk and the Aral Sea. [3]