Lake Sarikamish

In the 15th-17th centuries, most Turkmens began settling in the area surrounding the lake. Research by various scientists suggests that the Ceyhun River was the sole source of nutrition for Lake Sarikamish, and some studies suggest that the waters of the Ceyhun River began to flow entirely into the Aral Sea. This event occurred in the 17th century. Over time, the people who had settled on the lake were forced to abandon their homes as the lake’s area shrank and dried up. In 1971, to facilitate Soviet agricultural projects, they laid canals from Khorezm in Uzbekistan to feed Lake Sarikamish, thus preserving the Sarikamish tectonic deposits as a lake without drying out.