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Soviet Union is formed
The Uninon of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was formed. They were the people who later built canals off the Amu and Syr rivers. -
Canal Construction Begins
In the 1930s, the Soviet government decided to construct canals to divert the water to irrigate the desert for rice, cereal and cotton. -
Aral Sea declared world's forth largest lake.
The Aral Sea is identified as the forth largest lake in the world. -
Fish harvest decreased by 75%
Fishing was the biggest industry in the Aral Sea. In the 1960s, fishing supplied over 60,000 jobs to workers. However, by 1977, the fishing harvest dropped by 75%. -
Fishing Industry Eliminated
The once rich fishing industry was eliminated in the 1980s due to the small size and salinity of the Aral Sea. -
Separation
In 1987, the shrinkage caused the Aral Sea to split into two separate bodies of water- the North Aral Sea and the South Aral Sea. -
Surface Area Nearly Halved
In the beginning of the 1990s, the Aral Sea's surface area had shrunk by nearly half of its original area and its volume had gone down by about 75%. -
Aral Sea declared ecological disaster
The Aral Sea was declared the worst ecological disaster of the twentieth century by the United Nations Environmental Programme. -
Soviet Union falls
The Soviet Union breaks up into 15 separate countries, forcing Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to deal with the Aral Sea crisis by themselves. -
Treaty signed
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan sign a treaty to pledge 1% of their budget to helping the Aral Sea recover. -
Dam construction begins
Construction of the Dike Kokaral begins. -
Dam between seas finished
In a final attempt to save at least some of the lake, Kazakhstan built a dam separating the North and South Aral Sea. Finished in 2005, the dam was basically a death sentence for the South Aral Sea, but the North Aral Sea is now slowly growing once again.
