Karakum Canal
{{Short description|Largest irrigation and water supply canals in the world}}
{{Infobox canal
| name = Karakum Canal
| image = MAKarakumKanal4.jpg
| image_caption = A ship crossing the canal
| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-zoom = 5
| direction = West
| start_point = Amu-Darya
| begin_coord = {{coord|37|34|23|N|65|42|25|E|region:TM}}
| end_point = near Etrek
| end_coord = {{coord|37|42|34|N|54|48|07|E|region:TM|display=inline,title}}
| country = Turkmenistan
| length_km = 1375
| length_mi = auto
| source1_elevation =
| mouth_elevation =
| discharge1_avg =
| basin_size =
| module =
}}
File:Hanhowuz reservoir 2014.jpg, 2014.]]
The Karakum Canal (Qaraqum Canal, Kara Kum Canal, Garagum Canal; {{langx|ru|Каракумский канал}}, Karakumskiy Kanal, {{langx|tk|Garagum kanaly}}, {{lang|tk-Arab|قاراقۇم کانالیٛ}}, {{lang|tk-Cyrl|Гарагум каналы}}) in Turkmenistan is one of the largest irrigation and water supply canals in the world. Started in 1954, and completed in 1988, it is navigable over much of its {{convert|1375|km|mi|adj=on}} length, and carries {{convert|13|km3|mi3}} 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. The canal is also a major factor leading to the Aral Sea environmental disaster. The Soviet regime planned to at some time extend the canal to the Caspian Sea.Central Asia: 130 Years of Russian Dominance, A Historical Overview: Third Edition, by Edward Allworth (editor), publ. Duke University Press, Durham and London, 1994: ISBN 0-8223-1554-8 (cloth), ISBN 0-8223-1521-1 (paperback): page 297
History
File:Bridge over Garagum River, Ashgabat.jpg]]
The current Karakum Canal was not the first major attempt to bring the Amu-Darya water to the Karakums. In the early 1950s, construction began on the Main Turkmen Canal ({{langx|ru|Главный Туркменский канал|links=no}}), which would start at a much more northerly location (near Nukus), and run southwest toward Krasnovodsk. The canal would have used around 25 percent of the Amu-Darya's water. The works were abandoned after the death of Joseph Stalin, the current Karakum Canal route being chosen instead.Nikolaĭ Gavrilovich Kharin, "Vegetation Degradation in Central Asia Under the Impact of Human Activities". Pp. 56-58.
Springer, 2002. {{ISBN|1-4020-0397-8}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=XFmrOmqOYdQC On Google Books]
Reservoirs such as Hanhowuz Reservoir were created to help regulate it.
Important cities
External links
- [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Garagum+Kanaly/@37.8447884,58.4835418,119863m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x3f6ffa4314bd6181:0x299ffbcb875e8d22!8m2!3d37.8653336!4d58.7694024?hl=en Google Earth view of part of the Karakum Canal, and desert area irrigated by it]
- [https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-a-map-of-the-karakum-canal-23069399.html Map of Karakum Canal] (annotated in Russian alphabet)
References
{{Rivers of Turkmenistan}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Canals in Turkmenistan
Category:Buildings and structures built in the Soviet Union
Category:Agriculture in Turkmenistan
Category:Irrigation in Turkmenistan