Karakum Canal

Template: Infobox River / GKZ_fehlt

The Karakum Canal (now named after the " honorary name " Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov of former Türkmenbaşy channel and main channel formerly Turkmen, Turkmen Kanaly Garagum, Russian Каракумский канал ) is a canal in Turkmenistan.

The 1445 km long channel runs between the river Amu Darya ( in Atamyrat ) and the Caspian Sea through the Kara Kum desert and the northern edge of the mountain range Kopet -Dag on the border with Iran.

The construction was begun in 1954 by the Soviet Union in order to meet the increasing water demand through the accelerated around the cultivation of cotton and rice. The channel, which can be driven on almost half of his smaller boats, was the largest of the Soviet Union. The Karakum Canal is the cause of 40 percent of water loss of the Aral Sea, and thus for the increasing desiccation of the lake significantly: Through him, the Amu Darya annually about 12 to 13 km ³ of water are withdrawn, which corresponds to an average discharge of 400 m³ / s As a result, the river reaches the sea only temporarily, so that it greatly shrinks the resulting dehydration.

Because the channel to Bereket (former name Gazanjyk, 39 ° 15 ' N, 55 ° 31' O39.24166666666755.516666666667 ) runs open and also has no concreted bed, evaporates or about half the amount of water passing therethrough in him. The other half of the water is mainly withdrawn for agricultural use. From Bereket a branch south-western direction leads to Kizyl - Atrek (also called Gyzyletrek ). Another branch leads to Nebit -Dag ( Balkanabat ).

The most important city in the Karakum Canal is Ashgabat, capital of Turkmenistan. The channel is accompanied in different sections of the Trans- Caspian railway. The closely spaced cities Murghab and Mary, he crosses the river Murghab.