How was the Aral Sea divided by 1989?

By 1989, the Aral Sea had receded significantly due to the diversion of its primary river sources for irrigation, causing it to split into two separate bodies of water:

• The Greater Sea: Located in the south.
• The Lesser Sea: Located in the north.

By this time, both sections had reached a salinity level nearly triple that of the sea in the 1950s. This rapid shrinkage, driven by Soviet Union economic policies, resulted in the loss of more than half of the lake's pre-1960 volume, leading to the collapse of the local fishing industry and severe environmental degradation in the region.12