Chapter 03 of 5
The Aralkum Desert
The birth of a new desert from a former seabed.
- Emergence
A New Desert is Born
As the Aral Sea retreated, it birthed the Aralkum, the world's youngest desert. Over 60,000 square kilometers of former seabed are now exposed to the sky.
- Scale
Size Comparison
The Aralkum Desert is roughly the size of the country of Croatia. It represents one of the most rapid terrestrial expansions in modern history.
- Visual Anomaly
Ships in the Sand
Massive fishing trawlers and cargo ships now sit upright in the middle of sand dunes. They are miles away from the nearest drop of water.
17 more cards in this chapter
Could you answer this?
Which specific phenomenon is caused by the salt and chemical crust of the Aralkum being picked up by wind?
🏜️ Why is the Aral Sea Dying?
- 01A Sea in the SteppeThe geography of the endorheic basin before the intervention.
- 02The Cotton DiversionHow rerouting two rivers redrew the map of Central Asia.
- 03The Aralkum DesertThe birth of a new desert from a former seabed.
- 04Climate of the VoidHow a disappearing lake broke the local weather.
- 05A Divided HorizonThe Kokaral Dam and the permanent map of the future.