The fertile Ferghana Valley boasts 6 million people, including large minorities of ethnic Kyrgyz, Tajiks, and Russians.  The Ferghana Valley is split between three countries: Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and is home to a very diverse ethnic mix. The Ferghana Valley produces a major share of the country's cotton and grain crops and contains numerous manufacturing plants, as well as natural gas and oil fields.

Uzbekistan's central region consists mostly of desert, broken by the oases of the Zarafshan River, Qarshi Steppe, and Surkhandarya River. This region is best known for the ancient Silk Road cities of Samarkand and Bukhara, which together claim more than 600,000 inhabitants and comprise the heart of Uzbekistan's tourism industry.  Central Uzbekistan is also home to the mining center of Navoi and contains the majority of Uzbekistan's gold and other mineral deposits, as well as the largest natural gas and oil fields.  Irrigation along the Zarafshan and other rivers provides a basis for agriculture.

The ecologically damaged Aral Sea and the vast deserts surrounding it characterize western Uzbekistan and the autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan.  Overuse of the rivers that feed the Aral Sea have led to a severe reduction in the sea's size, destroying the traditional fishing culture of the region.  The salt and sand that the receding sea has left behind makes the surrounding land useless for agriculture as well. The entire economic viability of the area is currently in question.

Natural and Geographic Conditions

The Republic of Uzbekistan is a region with most favorable natural and geographical conditions. Located in the central part of Central Asia, between the Amudarya and Syrdarya rivers, it stretches for 1,425 km from west to east and 930 km from north lo south. The territory of Uzbekistan is larger than either the United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland or Austria taken together.

At the extreme north of Uzbekistan, near the western shore of the Aral Sea (latitude 45-36' North), lies the Plateau Us-tyurt. To the extreme south is the Surkhandarya Region, with the city of Termez lying nearby (latitude 37"11' North) , to the extreme west is the Ustyurt Plateau (longitude 56" East), and to the furthest east is the Ferghana Valley, on the border with Kyrgyzstan. In the northeast, the Republic shares a common border with Kazakhstan; whilst to the east and southeast it shares borders with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan; in the west with Turkmenistan and in the south it shares one with Afghanistan. The total length of the slate border is 6,221 km, of which the border with Kazakhstan takes 2,203 km, that with Kyrghyzstan 1,099 km, with Tajikistan 1,161 km, with Turkmenistan 1,621 km and with Afghanistan 137 km.

A combination of plains and mountains characterizes the country's landscape. The Plateau Ustyurt, the lower reaches of the Amudarya and the Kyzylkum Desert form the plains of the southwest and northwest. An old bed of the River Amudarya  follows along the western edge of the plain. The southern outskirts of the Kyzylkum, or Sundukli sands, the Karshy Steppe and the eastern part of the Hungry Steppe are a kind of a transitional zone to the hilly areas. Approximately a third of the Republic's territory consists of mountains and foothills to the east and southeast, where they merge with the mountain ranges of neighboring Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The Urgam, Pskem, Chatkal, Turkestan, Zarafshan and Gissar Mountain Ranges close to each other in the country. They form a cluster of mountain chains, gradually diminishing in size to the northwest and southwest. The mountains of Uzbekistan form part of the Western Tien Shan and Gissaro-Alay Ranges. The highest point reaches 4,643 meters.

Rather large depressions are located between the mountains, for instance, the basins and hollows of Sanzaro - Nuratin, Samarkand, Kashkadarya, Surkhandarya, Ferghana, as well as the Tashkent and Hungry Steppe Plain. The largest of them is the Ferghana Basin, more widely known as the Ferghana Valley (370 km long and 190 km wide). From three sides it is surrounded by mountains and is open in the west.

The Ferghana Valley lies between the Kuramin and Chatkal Ranges in the north and northwest, and the Alay and Turkestan ranges in the south. In the northeast, it is limited by the Ferghana Range. Toward the furthest eastern point it becomes much more narrow and joins a hilly depression of the Hungry Steppe.

The Ustyurt Plateau, the lower reaches of the Amudarya, and the Kyzylkum Desert make up the plains of Uzbekistan. The prevailing monotony of the plains landscape is disrupted in the Kyzylkum Desert by many small uplands, a particular characteristic of the area. In the center and southwest, there are the higher uplands of Bukantau, Altintau and Kok-patas.

A high degree of seismic activity, up to 8-9 points on the Richter scale, is typical of the country. Among the most destructive earthquakes that ever struck the country were those in Ferghana (1823), Andijan (1889 and 1902) and Tashkent (1866 and 1868). The capital of the Republic also lies in a seismically active zone. The highly destructive earthquake of April 26, 1966 caused damage to many districts, and particularly to the center of the city. 700 tremors were recorded in Tashkent within the year of 1966.

Design and Copyright © by Umid Design Team