and there was no more sea...

In an odd confluence of references, I learned about the Aral Sea today. It used to be the world's 4th largest lake, and it is about to disappear.

This follows one of the odd rules in my life...if I learn a new word or hear about a new place, I will see it again very soon in other places.

This morning it was the answer to a NYT crossword puzzle clue (59 Down - "Asia's shrunken ____ Sea"), and then this afternoon there's an article in the Boston Globe about the U.N. Secretary General visiting there yesterday. He called it "one of the planet’s most shocking environmental disasters." The photo of the stranded ships is freaky. http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2010/04/05/un_chief_decries_the_drying_up_of_the_aral_sea/

Wikipedia has great "before" and "after" satellite photos. It describes a Soviet project in the 60's to divert water from the rivers that fed it for irrigation canals to boost cotton farming. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aral_Sea

Google maps shows it in detail if you use their satellite feature. It's on the border of Kazakhstan (Aktobe and Kyzylorda provinces) in the north and Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan, in the south.

I wonder where else it will show up in the next few days...