The Aydar Lake ( uz, Aydar Ko‘li, Айдар кўли; Haydar ko‘li, Ҳайдар кўли; alternate spellings: Lake Aydarkul, Lake Aidarkul) is part of the man-made Aydar-Arnasay system of lakes, which covers 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 mi
2). This has 3 brackish water lakes (the two others being Arnasay and Tuzkan), deep basins of the south-eastern
Kyzyl Kum
The Kyzylkum Desert ( uz, Qizilqum, Қизилқум, قىزىلقۇم; kk, Қызылқұм, Qyzylqūm, قىزىلقۇم) is the 15th largest desert in the world. Its name means ''Red Sand'' in Turkic languages. It is located in Central Asia, i ...
(now in
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
and
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
). The lakes are expansive reservoirs of Soviet planning.
Being brackish rather than saline they have high rates of evaporation, prompting a moist summer microclimate, often attracting rain clouds, which has led to the replenishment of the
North Aral Sea
The North Aral Sea ( kk, Солтүстік Арал теңізі, russian: Северное Аральское море) is the portion of the former Aral Sea that is fed by the Syr Darya River. It split from the South Aral Sea in 1987–1988 as ...
.
Diversions and Reservoirs above the South and North Aral Seas
The system now provides close to original flows into the North (Small) Aral Sea, by which dams are being built to divorce the south, accelerating its recovery.
The south of Uzbekistan and north of Turkmenistan are considerably split by the
Amu Darya
The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin language, Latin name or Greek ) is a major rive ...
, the river that is occasionally dry at its mouth today and which fed the South Aral Sea (as its sole river source). Among its diversions is
Sarygamysh Lake
The Sarygamysh Lake, also Sarykamysh or Sary-Kamysh (, , ), is a lake in Central Asia. It is about midway between the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea. It is the largest lake in Turkmenistan, in which three quarters of the entire lake's area is loca ...
west of Uzbekistan. It is 70 cubic kilometers, tapped from the lower river. The Amu Darya's turning over to irrigation and the lake mentioned (which sits much lower) denies the South Aral Sea most of its former inflow, provoking the latter's drying up, but enabling central Turkmenistan, among other zones, to have imported sources of river water.
History of creation
Up to the middle of the last century, the
Arnasay lowland remained a dry
salt pan most of the year. Only in Spring, in the lowlands, would the small,
ephemeral
Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...
Lake Tuzkan glisten briefly, disappearing in the hot weather.
In the early sixties the
Syr Darya was dammed up. Simultaneously the
Chardara Dam
The Chardara Dam ( kk, Shardara), also known as Chardarin Dam, is an earth-fill embankment dam on the Syr Darya River in Shardara District, Kazakhstan. It was constructed between 1964 and 1968 with the primary purpose of irrigation. The dam has a ...
was constructed. Floodgates were provided in the dam for flood control, opened as in 1969 during a raging flood. Between February 1969 and February 1970 almost 60% of the Syr Darya's average flow (21 km
3) was drained from the
Chardarya Reservoir into the Arnasay lowland. In such a way new lakes were made. Since 1969 the Aydar Lake has regularly received the waters of the Syr Darya River when they overflow the capacity of the Chardarya Reservoir. This has gradually filled up the natural cavity of Arnasay lowland to create the largest lake of
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
excluding its long western border, the
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...
.
In 2005 the Aydar Lake contained 44.3 cubic kilometers of water. The lake covers . It is nearly long and up to wide. The mineralization of the water averages 2 grams per liter (2,000 ppm).
Its many fish include the
Sazan (''Cyprinus carpio''),
Pike perch
''Sander'' (formerly known as ''Stizostedion'') is a genus of predatory ray-finned fish in the family Percidae, which also includes the perches, ruffes, and darters. They are also known as "pike-perch" because of their resemblance to fish in th ...
(''Stizostedion lucioperca''),
Bream
Bream ( ) are species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including '' Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), '' Acanthopagrus'', ''Argyrops'', '' Blicca'', '' Brama'', '' Chilotilapia'', ''Etelis'', '' L ...
(''Abramis brama''),
Cat-fish (''Silurus glanis''),
Asp (''Aspius aspius''),
Chehon (''Pelecus cultratus''),
Ophidian fish (''Channa argus'') were introduced to the lake, which nowadays works as a source of industrial fishing. The lake system provides between 760 and 2,000 tonnes of fish annually (according to statistical data between 1994 and 2001).
In addition to fauna common in the
Kyzyl Kum
The Kyzylkum Desert ( uz, Qizilqum, Қизилқум, قىزىلقۇم; kk, Қызылқұм, Qyzylqūm, قىزىلقۇم) is the 15th largest desert in the world. Its name means ''Red Sand'' in Turkic languages. It is located in Central Asia, i ...
, there are many kinds of water birds migrating from the Aral Sea that make their homes around the lake.
The lake has rural inhabited immediate surrounds. As at the year 2010 about 345 families or 1,760 people live there.
The region with adjoining Kyzylkum Desert is of great potential for fishing,
yurt
A yurt (from the Turkic languages) or ger ( Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and insulated with skins or felt and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct nomadic groups in the steppes and mountains of Central Asia. ...
ing and camel-riding tourist activities.
See also
*
Kyzyl Kum
The Kyzylkum Desert ( uz, Qizilqum, Қизилқум, قىزىلقۇم; kk, Қызылқұм, Qyzylqūm, قىزىلقۇم) is the 15th largest desert in the world. Its name means ''Red Sand'' in Turkic languages. It is located in Central Asia, i ...
*
Sarmishsay, ancient monuments of anthropogenic activity
*
Tourism in Uzbekistan
Today, the museums of Uzbekistan store over two million artifacts, evidence of the unique historical, cultural, and spiritual life of the Central Asian peoples that have lived in the region.
According to the Statistical Internet Survey, carried ...
References
External links
Tourism Activities in Yurt Camps at Aydar Kul Lakefrom ''Aba Sayyoh''
{{Tourist attractions in Uzbekistan
Aydar
Ramsar sites in Uzbekistan