Ship Cemetery of the Aral Sea

The Aral Sea... Today, the name of the lake is related with the environmental disaster. But how did it look 60 years ago? The Aral Sea is located on the border between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Prior to the shallowing, the Aral Sea was the fourth largest lake in the world. It had ports, fish plants and fishing boats floated on the Aral Sea. Up to the 80es of the 20th century it was inhabited by 34 species of fish, 20 of which had marketable value. During its history the Aral Sea has shrunk out several times as evidenced by the numerous remains of flora and fauna found in the dried bed of the Aral Sea. Various expeditions to the study of the Aral Sea were carried out. Scientists suppose that in the middle of the Cenozoic Era (21 million years ago) the Aral Sea was connected to the Caspian Sea, but then the rivers dried up, separating two seas apart.