Aydarkul Lake, Uzbekistan: A Desert Lake Born from Soviet Irrigation

Located in the Kyzylkum Desert between the cities of Bukhara and Samarkand, Aydarkul Lake is one of the largest lakes in Uzbekistan. Unlike natural lakes, Aydarkul was created by Soviet-era water diversion projects linked to the Syr Darya River, the same schemes responsible for the environmental changes that contributed to the Aral Sea shrinking. Curving sandbar forming shallow pools at Aydarkul…