Qaraqum Canal
Encyclopedia
The Qaraqum Canal in Turkmenistan
is one of the largest irrigation
and water supply canal
s in the world. Started in 1954, and completed in 1988, it is navigable over much of its 1,375 km length, and carries 13 km³ of water annually from the Amu-Darya River across the Karakum Desert
in Turkmenistan
. The canal opened up huge new tracts of land to agriculture, especially to cotton
monoculture
heavily promoted by the Soviet Union
, and supplying Ashgabat with a major source of water. Unfortunately, the primitive construction of the canal allows almost 50% of the water to escape en route, creating lakes and ponds along the canal, and a rise in groundwater
leading to widespread soil salinization problems. The canal is also a major factor leading to the Aral Sea
environmental disaster.
, which would start at a much more northerly location (near Nukus
), and run southwest toward Krasnovodsk. The canal would use around 25% of the Amu-Darya's water. The works were abandoned after the death of Joseph Stalin
, the current Karakum Canal route being chosen instead.
Reservoirs such as Hanhowuz Reservoir
were created to help regulate it.
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
is one of the largest irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
and water supply canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
s in the world. Started in 1954, and completed in 1988, it is navigable over much of its 1,375 km length, and carries 13 km³ of water annually from the Amu-Darya River across the Karakum Desert
Karakum Desert
The Karakum Desert, also spelled Kara-Kum and Gara Gum is a desert in Central Asia. It occupies about 70 percent, or 350,000 km², of the area of Turkmenistan....
in Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
. The canal opened up huge new tracts of land to agriculture, especially to cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
monoculture
Monoculture
Monoculture is the agricultural practice of producing or growing one single crop over a wide area. It is also known as a way of farming practice of growing large stands of a single species. It is widely used in modern industrial agriculture and its implementation has allowed for large harvests from...
heavily promoted by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and supplying Ashgabat with a major source of water. Unfortunately, the primitive construction of the canal allows almost 50% of the water to escape en route, creating lakes and ponds along the canal, and a rise in groundwater
Groundwater
Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...
leading to widespread soil salinization problems. The canal is also a major factor leading to the Aral Sea
Aral Sea
The Aral Sea was a lake that lay between Kazakhstan in the north and Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan, in the south...
environmental disaster.
History
The current Qaraqum Canal was not the first major attempt to bring the Amu-Darya water to the Karakums. In the early 1950s, the construction was started on the Main Turkmen CanalMain Turkmen Canal
The Main Turkmen Canal was a large-scale irrigation project in Soviet Turkmenistan. The canal was intended to transport water from the Amu Darya river to Krasnovodsk , a city in Turkmenistan on the coast of the Caspian Sea...
, which would start at a much more northerly location (near Nukus
Nukus
Nukus is the sixth-largest city in Uzbekistan, and the capital of the autonomous Karakalpakstan Republic. It has a population of 260,000...
), and run southwest toward Krasnovodsk. The canal would use around 25% of the Amu-Darya's water. The works were abandoned after the death of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, the current Karakum Canal route being chosen instead.
Reservoirs such as Hanhowuz Reservoir
Hanhowuz Reservoir
Hanhowuz, also known as Khauz-Khan is a reservoir in Mary Province of southeastern Turkmenistan. It is located at . The M37 highway passes nearby and the village of Hanhowuz stands on the northwestern shore, with the city of Tejen not too far away in that direction.Hanhowuz Reservoir is a component...
were created to help regulate it.