Uzbekistan is located in Central Asia and is a former republic of the USSR. It is bound by Kazakhstan to the northwest, north and northeast, Kyrgyzstan to the east, Tajikistan to the southeast, Afghanistan to the south and Turkmenistan to the south and west. It is landlocked.
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The Charvak hydroelectric power station of 600 MW capacity (four 150 MW generating units), one of the largest hydropower plants in Central Asia, is located on the Chirchik river 70 km from the town of Tashkent, the capital of Uzbek SSR. The Charvak hydroelectric development plays an important part in integral development of the National Economy and primarily in irrigation of the fertile land.
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Formerly, some villages, mounds, evidences of primitive people sites, petroglyphs and other historical sights has existed on the site of the lake bottom. But after the destructive earthquake of 1966, when entire USSR made every effort to rebuild Tashkent, it was the period of acute shortage of cheap and ecological electricity.
The physical environment of Uzbekistan is diverse, ranging from the flat, desert topography that comprises almost 80 percent of the country's territory to mountain peaks in the east reaching about 4,500 meters above sea level. The southeastern part of Uzbekistan is characterized by the foothills of the Tian Shan mountains, which rise higher in neighboring Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and form a natural border between Central Asia and China. The vast Qizilqum (Turkic for "red sand"--Russian spelling Kyzyl Kum) Desert, shared with southern Kazakstan, dominates the northern lowland portion of Uzbekistan. The most fertile part of Uzbekistan, the Fergana Valley, is an area of about 21,440 square kilometers directly east of the Qizilqum and surrounded by mountain ranges to the north, south, and east. The western end of the valley is defined by the course of the Syrdariya, which runs across the northeastern sector of Uzbekistan from southern Kazakstan into the Qizilqum. Although the Fergana Valley receives just 100 to 300 millimeters of rainfall per year, only small patches of desert remain in the center and along ridges on the periphery of the valley.
Water resources, which are not evenly distributed, are in short supply in most of Uzbekistan. The vast plains that occupy two-thirds of Uzbekistan's territory have little water, and there are few lakes. The two largest rivers feeding Uzbekistan are the Amu Darya and the Syrdariya, which originate in the mountains of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, respectively. These rivers form the two main river basins of Central Asia; they are used primarily for irrigation, and several artificial canals have been built to expand the supply of arable land in the Fergana Valley and elsewhere.
Another important feature of Uzbekistan's physical environment is the significant seismic activity that dominates much of the country. Indeed, much of Uzbekistan's capital city, Tashkent, was destroyed in a major earthquake in 1966, and other earthquakes have caused significant damage before and since the Tashkent disaster. The mountain areas are especially prone to earthquakes.
Water resources, which are not evenly distributed, are in short supply in most of Uzbekistan. The vast plains that occupy two-thirds of Uzbekistan's territory have little water, and there are few lakes. The two largest rivers feeding Uzbekistan are the Amu Darya and the Syrdariya, which originate in the mountains of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, respectively. These rivers form the two main river basins of Central Asia; they are used primarily for irrigation, and several artificial canals have been built to expand the supply of arable land in the Fergana Valley and elsewhere.
Another important feature of Uzbekistan's physical environment is the significant seismic activity that dominates much of the country. Indeed, much of Uzbekistan's capital city, Tashkent, was destroyed in a major earthquake in 1966, and other earthquakes have caused significant damage before and since the Tashkent disaster. The mountain areas are especially prone to earthquakes.
The Republic of Uzbekistan is one of the two double landlocked countries in the World. In old times, this area was called Mawara'unnahr in old Uzbek language, which means "a land between two rivers". Uzbekistan is surrounded by mountains and deserts from all sides. Ancient and unique cities like Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva once were located at the heart of the Great Silk Road, linking the East to the West. This country was the place where civilizations meet.