- Also spelled:
- Kara-Kalpakstan or Qaraqalpaqstan
- Also called:
- Karakalpakiya
- Uzbek:
- Qoraqalpoghistan
Karakalpakstan
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What is Karakalpakstan?
Karakalpakstan is an autonomous republic within Uzbekistan, situated to the southeast and southwest of the Aral Sea. It borders Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. The republic's area spans 63,900 square miles (165,600 square km). Its population was estimated to be 1,817,500 in 2017.
Karakalpakstan's landscape includes the western Kyzylkum Desert, the Amu Darya valley and delta, and the southeastern Ustyurt Plateau. The climate features cool winters and hot summers, with average rainfall of only 3 to 4 inches (75 to 100 mm). The population consists mainly of Karakalpaks, Uzbeks, and Kazaks. Nukus is its capital.
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Where is Karakalpakstan located within Uzbekistan?
Karakalpakstan is an autonomous republic within Uzbekistan, situated to the southeast and southwest of the Aral Sea. It occupies the western half of the Kyzylkum Desert in the east. The central part includes the valley and delta of the Amu Darya River. To the west, it extends to the southeastern part of the Ustyurt Plateau. Karakalpakstan is the only region in Uzbekistan where Karakalpak has official status. Much of Karakalpakstan is under threat of depopulation caused by the environmental poisoning of the Aral Sea area.
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What special political status does Karakalpakstan have in Uzbekistan?
Karakalpakstan is an autonomous republic within Uzbekistan. It gained this status in 1932 and was made part of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic in 1936. Following Uzbekistan's independence in 1991, Karakalpakstan became part of the country while retaining its autonomous status. Karakalpakstan is ethnically diverse, with Karakalpaks, Uzbeks, and Kazaks forming the major groups.
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What language do people in Karakalpakstan speak?
In Karakalpakstan, an autonomous republic within Uzbekistan, the Karakalpak language holds official status alongside Uzbek. Karakalpak, spoken by about half a million people, is a Turkic language closely related to Kazakh. The population of Karakalpakstan consists mainly of Karakalpaks, Uzbeks, and Kazaks, with smaller numbers of Turkmens and Russians. About one-seventh of Uzbekistan's population speaks Russian.
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What are some important features of Karakalpakstan’s geography and climate?
Karakalpakstan, an autonomous republic in Uzbekistan, is characterized by its cool winters and hot summers with average rainfall of only 3 to 4 inches (75 to 100 mm).
Geographically, it features the western half of the Kyzylkum Desert, the Amu Darya valley and delta, and the southeastern part of the Ustyurt Plateau. Lying along the Aral Sea and the Amu Darya delta, Karakalpakstan has suffered from environmentally unsound agricultural practices, leading to farmland salinization and health hazards because of toxic agrochemicals.
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How has the drying of the Aral Sea affected Karakalpakstan and its people?
The drying of the Aral Sea has significantly impacted Karakalpakstan and its people. The sea's shrinkage, caused by Soviet-era irrigation policies, has led to increased salinity, killing fish and destroying the fishing industry, causing partial depopulation and harsher climate with extreme temperatures.
Toxic dust storms from the exposed seabed, contaminated with salt, fertilizers, and pesticides, have caused high rates of throat cancers, anemia, and kidney diseases among the Karakalpaks, with infant mortality being among the highest in the world. The environmental disaster has heavily salinized farmland, eliminating fisheries and shortening the growing season.
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Karakalpakstan, autonomous republic in Uzbekistan, situated southeast and southwest of the Aral Sea.
On the east Karakalpakstan occupies the western half of the Kyzylkum Desert, a vast plain covered with shifting sands. The central part consists of the valley and delta of the Amu Darya (river), a low-lying area intersected by watercourses and canals. On the west the republic includes the southeastern part of the Ustyurt Plateau, a slightly undulating area characterized by flat summits rising to some 958 feet (292 metres) above sea level. The climate is marked by cool winters and hot summers. Average rainfall is only 3 to 4 inches (75 to 100 mm).
The Karakalpaks are closely allied to the Kazaks. Like many other Turkic peoples, they are of obscure origin. The first historical reference to them dates from the end of the 16th century. During the 18th century they settled in the Amu Darya region, came partly under Russian rule in 1873, and by 1920 were totally incorporated into the Soviet Union. Established as an autonomous oblast (province) of the Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1925, Karakalpakstan came under the administration of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic in 1930 and two years later was constituted as an autonomous republic. In 1936, while retaining its status, it was made a part of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic and became part of Uzbekistan with that country’s independence in 1991. The population is composed mainly of Karakalpaks, Uzbeks, and Kazaks, with smaller numbers of Turkmens and Russians. About one-half of the population is urban. Nukus, the capital, Khŭjayli, Beruniy, Takhiatosh, Chimbay, Tŭrtkŭl, and Altykyl are the chief settlements.
The economy is predominantly agricultural. The industrial sector, while limited, includes light manufacturing, refineries that process oil from nearby petroleum fields, several building-materials plants that utilize the limestone, gypsum, asbestos, marble, and quartzite of the area, and a power station in Takhiatosh. Cotton is cultivated along the Amu Darya and in its delta and is processed at Chimbay, Qŭnghirot, Beruniy, Takhtakupyr, Khŭjayli, and Mangit. A well-developed system of irrigation canals supplies water from the Amu Darya to the crops. Besides cotton, crops include alfalfa, rice, and corn (maize). Cattle and Karakul sheep are raised in the Kyzylkum Desert.
Lying as it does along both the Aral Sea and the Amu Darya delta, Karakalpakstan by the late 20th century had become one of the areas worst affected by the environmentally unsound agriculture of the Soviet period. Much of the republic’s farmland had become heavily salinized owing to the effects of over-irrigation and to salt dust from the exposed bed of the receding Aral Sea. In addition, high concentrations of toxic agrochemicals (fertilizers, defoliants, insecticides) in both soils and river water posed hazards to human health in many localities. The shrinkage of the Aral Sea eliminated the republic’s fisheries and resulted in a harsher climate and a shorter growing season.
Transport facilities in the republic include a railway from Qŭnghirot to Chärjew in Turkmenistan, motor roads that link several cities of the republic, and air connections with Moscow, Tashkent, Ashkhabad, and other cities. Area 63,900 square miles (165,600 square km). Pop. (2017 est.) 1,817,500.