Human – Environment Interaction

Chapter 15, section 3

The Shrinking Aral Sea Between 1960 and present, Aral Sea

lost 80% of its water Receives water from Amu Darya and Syr

Darya rivers Irrigation diverted so much water from

the rivers that very little emptied into the lake and it began to disappear

Aral Sea 1985 Aral Sea 2003

The Shrinking Aral Sea Pesticides and fertilizers are running

off into the streams and rivers that feed the Aral Sea All 24 native species have been

destroyed Windstorms picked up the chemicals

and salt from the receding shores and carried them to populated areas which has caused diseases

Siberia

Population of 32 million in Siberia

Some of the most variable temperatures on earth -90˚ F to 94˚ F

Siberia Temperatures drop so low that basic human

functions become painful Permafrost makes building difficult

Siberia When ice and snow melt, standing water

becomes breeding ground for mosquitoes and black flies

War and “General Winter” Napoleon marched on Russia in 1812 When he reached Moscow, winter was coming

and the Russians burned Moscow before Napoleon got there

War and “General Winter” They retreated back to Poland but

lost 90% of his army on the way

Crossing the “Wild East” In the 19th century, travel in Siberia was

dangerous Alexander III ordered work to begin on the

Trans-Siberian Railroad

Trans-Siberian Railroad Links Moscow to Vladivostok Covered more than 5700 miles and

crossed 7 time zones

Trans-Siberian Railroad From 1891 – 1903, 70,000 workers moved

77 million cubic feet of earth, cleared >100,000 acres of forest and built bridges over several major rivers

Resource Wealth in Siberia

Wanted to populate Siberia through the RR

By 1904, 5 million settlers moved to Siberia

Discovered large amounts of coal and iron ore