Mostly flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; broad flat intensely irrigated river valleys along course of Amu Darya Syr Darya (Sirdaryo) and Zarafshon; Fergana Valley in east surrounded by mountainous Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; shrinking Aral Sea in west
Climate
Mostly midlatitude desert long hot summers mild winters; semiarid grassland in east
Natural Hazards
Mostly flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; broad flat intensely irrigated river valleys along course of Amu Darya Syr Darya (Sirdaryo) and Zarafshon; Fergana Valley in east surrounded by mountainous Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; shrinking Aral Sea in west
Note:
Along with Liechtenstein one of the only two doubly landlocked countries in the world
Russia conquered Uzbekistan in the late 19th century. Stiff resistance to the Red Army after World War I was eventually suppressed and a socialist republic set up in 1924. During the Soviet era intensive production of "white gold" (cotton) and grain led to overuse of agrochemicals and the depletion of water supplies which have left the land poisoned and the Aral Sea and certain rivers half dry. Independent since 1991 the country seeks to gradually lessen its dependence on agriculture while developing its mineral and petroleum reserves. Current concerns include terrorism by Islamic militants economic stagnation and the curtailment of human rights and democratization. Read more on Wikipedia
