Which desert region formed on the former seabed after the Aral Sea shrank?

The desert region formed on the former seabed after the Aral Sea shrank is the Aralkum Desert. It began emerging in Central Asia after the Aral Sea’s water level fell dramatically from the 1960s onward.

The shrinking was driven mainly by Soviet irrigation projects that diverted water from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers to farms. With less inflow, the sea retreated and exposed its salty lakebed. The Aralkum now lies mainly south and east of the remaining Eastern Basin, across Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

The exposed seabed is more than a landscape curiosity. Winds lift salt, dust, and agricultural pollutants from the dry lakebed, carrying them across nearby communities and farmland. The abandoned fishing boats near Moʻynoq are a famous reminder that this was once a working sea.

A common mix-up is the Aral Karakum Desert, a separate desert near the Aral Sea. “Aralkum” specifically refers to the desert created by the sea’s retreat and is often described as the world’s youngest desert.