Geography of Uzbekistan in Uzbekistan is best exemplified by the catastrophe of the Aral Sea. Because of diversion of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya for cotton cultivation and other purposes, what once was the world's fourth largest inland sea has shrunk in the past thirty years to only about one-third of its 1960 volume and less than half its 1960 geographical size. The desiccation and salinization of the lake have caused extensive storms of salt and dust from the sea's dried bottom, wreaking havoc on the region's agriculture and ecosystems and on the population's health. Desertification has led to the large-scale loss
Seto Inland Sea due to whaling and pollution, they have totally disappeared from the Seto Inland Sea, except for occasional lost individuals. It is believed that in the last ice age the sea level was lower than today. After the ice age, sea water poured into a basin between the Chūgoku mountains and Shikoku mountains and formed the Seto Inland Sea as we know it today. From ancient times, the Seto Inland Sea served as a main transport line between its coastal areas, including what is today the Kansai region and Kyūshū. It was also a main transport line between Japan and other