World Geography / Unit 9: Southwest, South and Central Asia
9.5 Central Asia
Notes
- Countries and capitals: Kazakhstan (Astana), Uzbekistan (Tashkent), Turkmenistan (Ashgabat), Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek), Tajikistan (Dushanbe).
- All five were republics of the Soviet Union and became independent in 1991. All are landlocked; Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country in the world.
- The Silk Road trade routes crossed the region; cities such as Samarkand and Bukhara were great trade centers.
- Most people are Muslim. Most languages are Turkic, except Tajik, which is related to Persian. Russian is still widely used.
- The Aral Sea shrank because rivers feeding it were diverted to irrigate cotton, causing environmental damage.
- Resources: oil and gas (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan), cotton (Uzbekistan), minerals.
Practice
Central Asian countries became independent in 1991 after the end of
The USSR dissolved in 1991.
What caused the Aral Sea to shrink?
Less water reached the sea, which dried up.
What is the largest landlocked country in the world?
Kazakhstan has no ocean coast and is huge in area.
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