Aral Sea

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Aral Sea (Aralskoye More) Inland sea in central Asia, sw Kazakstan and nw Uzbekistan. Once the world's fourth largest inland body of water, it has no outlet, contains many small islands and is fed by the rivers Syrdarya in the ne and Amudarya (Oxus) in the s. It is generally shallow and only slightly saline. The diversion of the rivers for irrigation by the Soviet government led to its area shrinking by more than a third between 1960 and 1995. Many fishing communities were left stranded. Area (1993): 33,642sq km (12,989sq mi).

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