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
Facies of the pile dwellings and of the dammed settlements Facies of the pile dwellings and of the dammed settlements The facies of pile dwellings and dammed settlements (Italian: "facies delle palafitte e degli abitati arginati") is a cultural aspect of the middle to late Bronze Age (c. 1600 to 1300 BC) that developed between eastern Lombardy, Trentino and western Veneto. It was followed in the final Bronze Age by the Proto-Villanovan culture and by the Luco culture. The continuity with the previous Polada culture of the ancient Bronze Age seems to be unbroken. The villages, as in the previous phase, are on stilts and are concentrated in the area