earthrise - Aral Sea Reborn

Kazakhstan's Aral Sea was once the world's fourth largest lake, a rich haven for fish, birds and other wildlife. It was also home to bustling fishing ports such as Aralsk. But starting in the 1960s, massive agricultural expansion saw much of the water from the two rivers that feed the lake diverted into thousands of canals to irrigate crops. This caused the Aral Sea to shrink by 70% and split into two.