Through the blooming Ferghana Valley and the gorges of the Farkhad Mountains, along the Hungry Steppe and the outskirts of the Kyzylkum desert, the Syr Darya flows, the longest river in Central Asia.
Pearl River
From time immemorial, people settled on the banks of the Syr Darya, using its water to irrigate fields. Here were not only the most fertile lands, but also the famous Silk Road passed, intersecting with caravan routes from Samarkand, Khiva and Bukhara.
In ancient Greek sources, this river is called "Jaxart", which means "pearl river". It was also called by the Turkic tribes and the peoples of Iran. Even in medieval Chinese chronicles, one can find the name of the Syrdarya - "Zhenzhuhe", which means "Pearl River" in translation.
However, there have never been pearls in this river. The ancient name of the Syrdarya most likely reflects the attitude of people who lived in arid areas and valued water above all else.
Despite the seeming calmness and even majesty, the Syr Darya is insidious and capricious. And during the spill, especially duringsnowmelt in the mountains, it can flood large areas. Therefore, even in the recent past, local residents, in order to appease the spirit of the Pearl River, sacrificed an animal to it.
There are many historical monuments and attractions on the banks of the Syr Darya. For example, Khujand, which is more than 2.5 thousand years old, Sygnak, now known as the settlement of Sunak-Ata, the ruins of the city of Otrar, which was a major center in the Middle Ages. But Otrar was ruined and destroyed by one of the sons of Genghis Khan, and the city was no longer revived.
General information about geography and hydrology
The Syrdarya is born in the eastern part of the Ferghana Valley from the confluence of two rivers - the Naryn and Karadarya running from the Tien Shan glaciers. Her path lies through the territories of three states: Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The length of this river is 2,212 km. The Syr Darya is a river, though wide, but shallow, so it is navigable only in the area of Kyzyl-Orda and Kazakhstan.
The state of the river is greatly influenced by the irrigation system, since water from it has long been used to irrigate dry regions. And at present, there are about 700 canals that bring the water of the Syrdarya to fields and industrial areas.
In its middle reaches, the river forms numerous channels, so its floodplain is low-lying, swampy in places and overgrown with reeds, reeds and tugai forests.
Where the Syrdarya flows into is now difficult to answer, sinceThe Aral Sea, where her path previously ended, practically does not exist. Due to drying up, it has split into two shallow reservoirs, and the waters of the river are so actively used for household needs that the volume of runoff at the mouth is very small. But officially it is believed that the river flows into the Small Aral Sea.
The area where the Syrdarya River is located is distinguished by a variety of climatic conditions and natural landscapes.
Fergana Valley
After absorbing the rivers and streams flowing from the Tien Shan glaciers, the Syrdarya begins its journey through the picturesque Ferghana Valley.
From the 3rd millennium BC, centers of highly developed states existed on the territory of the valley, and one of the oldest cities of Central Asia, Andijan and Margilan, is still located here.
The Fergana Valley has a very favorable and mild climate, from time immemorial it has been known for its fertility. Currently, cotton, rice, fruits, vegetables, gourds are grown here, and 30% of the population of Uzbekistan lives on Ferghana land.
Fergana owes its abundance to the Syr Darya. Many small streams, rushing from the mountains to this waterway, feed the valley with glacier water. In addition, there is a developed irrigation system, which began to form in the distant past. The waters of the Syr Darya rush through artificial channels to fields and melons, orchards and vineyards.
Farhad Mountains
The exit from the Fergana Valley is blocked by the Farhad Mountains, or rather rocks, since the massif is not very large. Syr Darya - rivercalm and even lazy - here it turns into a turbulent stream. Making its way through the rocks, it comes across the Mogol-Tau ridge, turns sharply to the northwest and forms the Bigovat rapids.
At the exit of the Syr Darya from the Farhad gorge, a hydroelectric power station was built in Soviet times. Its reservoir plays an important role in irrigating part of the lands of the Hungry Steppe.
Which plain does the Syrdarya River cross
Escaped from the Farhad Mountains, the Syrdarya continues its journey along the Turan Plain, which occupies a significant part of Central Asia. This is a very harsh and arid region with a sharply continental climate. The temperature here ranges from +40˚С in summer to -40˚С in winter.
On the territory of the Turan Plain there are such large and famous deserts as the Karakum and Kyzylkum. And only the Syrdarya softens the arid climate of this area.
True, the deserts themselves remain on the sidelines, the river flows only along the outskirts of Kyzylkum. But it crosses an even darker place, also located on the territory of the Turan Plain - the Hungry Steppe.
On the wind-dried and s alted clay soil of this steppe, almost nothing grows, even the flora of the desert seems more diverse. Even the full-flowing Syrdarya River does not enliven this dull landscape - the photo demonstrates this well.
For hundreds of years people have been trying to make the Hungry Steppe drink the water of the Syr Darya, but these attempts have ended in failure. At the end of the 19th century, according to the imperial decree, several thousand people built the Kaufmanskychannel. But the diverted water only caused part of the steppe to become waterlogged.
Rivers feeding the Syr Darya
The basin area of this river is over 200,000 km². The volume of water in its upper reaches mainly depends on numerous streams and rivulets fed by melt water from glaciers. Large tributaries of the Syrdarya River are located in the middle reaches. These are Keles, Chirchik and Angren. The largest and deepest of them is Chirchik.
The Syr Darya has many smaller tributaries, such as Kasansay, Chaadaksai, Shakhimardan, Sokh, Bugun, Isfairamsay and others. The river receives its last tributary, the Arys, in its lower course, on the border with the Kyzylkum desert.
Environmental Issues
Syrdarya is a river that gives life. It literally supports the existence and well-being of a vast region. And people shamelessly use its generosity, not considering that the Syr Darya is replenished almost exclusively due to rains and melting glaciers.
Due to the active consumption of water resources, both the Syr Darya and the Amu Darya have significantly reduced their flows over the past couple of decades. Thus, the amount of water that the Syr Darya carries into the Aral Sea has decreased by 10 times. This is the main reason for the drying up of the inland sea.
Yes, and the river itself became pretty shallow, turning into a network of branches, channels and swamps in the middle course.
