Aral Sea

The Aral Sea (Kazakh: Арал Теңізі Aral Teñizi; Uzbek: Orol Dengizi; Russian: Аральскοе Мοре Aral’skoye Morye; Tajik: Баҳри Арал Bahri Aral; older Persian: دریای خوارزم‎ Daryâ-ye Khârazm) is an endorheic basin containing the remnants of a large lake lying between Kazakhstan (Aktobe and Kyzylorda provinces) in the north and Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan, in the south. The name roughly translates as “Sea of Islands”, referring to about 1,534 islands that once dotted its waters; in Old Turkic aral means “island” and “thicket”.