Uzbekistan Geography

The country of Uzbekistan which has an area of 447,000 sq km has a varied geographical aspect. Being the largest and most populous country in Central Asia, Uzbekistan also possesses a rich history and numerous ancient architectural monuments making it one of the hot favorite travel destinations.

Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country comprising of 12 provinces and one autonomous republic. It is bordered by five countries, namely, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan, all of which were previously part of a single empire before being divided by the Russians. It stretches 1,425 km from west to east and 930 km from north to south.

Desert

Almost 80% of country’s land is flat desert. The KyzylKum Desert dominates the northern lowland portion of Uzbekistan.

Mountain

Mountains characterize the southeastern portion of Uzbekistan where the Tian Shan Mountain range runs through the Fergana region. The mountain peak reaches the height of 4,500 meters above sea level which rise higher in the neighboring Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Valley

The most fertile region of Uzbekistan is the area along the course of Syr Darya in the Fergana Valley.

Besides Syr Darya and Amu Darya which are two main rivers of Uzbekistan, the only significant water body Uzbekistan has is the Aral Sea. Aral Sea is actually a lake but called a sea because of its gigantic size. It used to be among the four largest inland lakes in the world but it got reduced to 10% of its size as the routes of the rivers feeding it, Amu and Syr Darya, got diverted from their usual path.

The climate of Uzbekistan is continental with very little precipitation. Summers are usually hotter which peak 40°C, while the winters can get quite chilly with temperatures reaching well below 10°C and even freezing point in places which are located at higher altitudes.