The Garabogazköl (also spelt Kara-Bogaz-Gol; "Black Strait Lake"), or Garabogazköl Aylagy ("Black Strait Lake Bay"), is a shallow, highly-saline water-filled depression in the northwestern corner of

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

. It forms a

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') ...

of 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 ...

and has a variable surface area, about . The Caspian Sea proper sits immediately to the west, mostly divorced by a narrow, rocky ridge having a very narrow opening through which the Caspian waters flow, overwhelmingly, into it. There is likely to be a subterranean highly saline flow, only when there is less evaporation in winter, as in the case of the Turkish Straits year-round. The lagoon's volume fluctuates seasonally, accentuated by its

salt evaporation pond A salt evaporation pond is a shallow artificial salt pan designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines. The Salt pans are shallow and large of size because it will be easier for sunlight to travel and reach the sea water. Natural sal ...

s and natural counterpart surrounding, seasonally dry salt pans. The city of

Garabogaz Garabogaz () is a city subordinate to Turkmenbashy District, Balkan province, Turkmenistan, on the shore of the Caspian Sea. Until 2002, the municipality had the status of a town and was named ''Bekdaş'' . Etymology The city takes its name fr ...

(formerly Bekdaş) lies on the ridge, about north of the channel between the main Caspian basin and the Garabogazköl lagoon. It has a population of about 10,000 people.

Etymology

The gulf lends its name to the nearby city of

. Atanyyazow explains that the name originally applied to the narrow strait which connects the gulf to the Caspian Sea. Because water in the strait, termed a "throat" ( tk, bogaz), was darker than the water on either side, it was termed "dark" or "black" ( tk, gara), hence ''garabogaz''. Over time the name was applied to the gulf itself and ultimately to the city.

Salinity

The salinity of the lagoon averages about 35%, compared to the Caspian Sea's 1.2%, and 3–4% for the bulk of the world's oceans. Because of the exceptionally high salinity, comparable to the Dead Sea, it has practically no marine vegetation. Large

evaporite An evaporite () is a water- soluble sedimentary mineral deposit that results from concentration and crystallization by evaporation from an aqueous solution. There are two types of evaporite deposits: marine, which can also be described as ocean ...

, mostly salt deposits accumulated at the south shore, were harvested by the local population since the 1920s, but in the 1930s manual collection stopped and the industry shifted northwest to its present center near Garabogaz. From the 1950s on, ground water was pumped from levels lower than the bay itself, yielding more valuable types of salts. In 1963 construction began at Garabogaz on a modern plant for increased production of salines all the year round and independently of natural evaporation. This plant was completed in 1973. In March 1980, workers blocked the Caspian link, due to concerns evaporation was accelerating a fall in Caspian Sea. The resulting "salt bowl" caused widespread problems of blowing salt,Micklin, Philip P
''Environmental Resources and Constraints in the Former Soviet Republics''
(1994). The National Council for Soviet and Eastern European Research. Page 9. reportedly poisoning the soil and causing health problems for hundreds of kilometers downwind to the east. File:Kara-Bogaz-Gol inlet from the Caspian STS111.jpg, Waters flow through the narrow inlet from the Caspian (left) into the Garabogazköl File:Caspian Sea from orbit.jpg, Garabogazköl is visible on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea

Complete evaporation

From 1984 the lake was completely dry. In June 1992, when Caspian Sea levels rose again, the barrier was breached, allowing Caspian water to again refill Garabogazköl. The remnants of the dam can be seen in the satellite photo of the inlet, near the Caspian Sea entrance.

In popular culture

It is the subject of Russian writer

Konstantin Paustovsky Konstantin Georgiyevich Paustovsky ( rus, Константи́н Гео́ргиевич Паусто́вский, p=pəʊˈstofskʲɪj; – 14 July 1968) was a Soviet writer nominated for the Nobel Prize for literature in 1965. Early life ...

's 1932 book ''Kara-Bugaz''. In this he praises the setting up of the local salt industry by the Soviet government in the 1930s. In 1935 the film director Aleksandr Razumny made a film ''Kara-bugaz'' (''Кара-Бугаз'') based on the above book, with music by

Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov Mikhail Mikhailovich Ippolitov-Ivanov (russian: Михаи́л Миха́йлович Ипполи́тов-Ива́нов; 28 January 1935) was a Russian and Soviet composer, conductor and teacher. His music ranged from the late-Romantic era ...

. French communist journalist

Henri Barbusse Henri Barbusse (; 17 May 1873 – 30 August 1935) was a French novelist and a member of the French Communist Party. He was a lifelong friend of Albert Einstein. Life The son of a French father and an English mother, Barbusse was born in Asnièr ...

was given a sneak preview of the almost-finished film, which he praised in an article in ''

Izvestia ''Izvestia'' ( rus, Известия, p=ɪzˈvʲesʲtʲɪjə, "The News") is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Russia. Founded in 1917, it was a newspaper of record in the Soviet Union until the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991, and describes i ...

''. The film should have been shown first to

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

, who became unhappy when he learned of its existence. Thus it was never generally released in the Soviet Union. It had its first public screening in London in June 2010.

References

External links

Google Maps detail showing the current in the strait
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garabogazkol Bodies of water of Turkmenistan Caspian Sea Lagoons of Asia Balkan Region Bays of the Caspian Sea