<Tr> <Th> Settlements </Th> <Td> Aral, Kazakhstan and Mo'ynoq, Uzbekistan </Td> </Tr> <P> The Aral Sea was an endorheic lake lying between Kazakhstan (Aktobe and Kyzylorda Regions) in the north and Uzbekistan (Karakalpakstan autonomous region) in the south . The name roughly translates as "Sea of Islands", referring to over 1,100 islands that once dotted its waters; in the Turkic languages aral means "island, archipelago". The Aral Sea drainage basin encompasses Uzbekistan and parts of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and Pakistan . </P> <P> Formerly one of the four largest lakes in the world with an area of 68,000 km (26,300 sq mi), the Aral Sea has been steadily shrinking since the 1960s after the rivers that fed it were diverted by Soviet irrigation projects . By 1997, it had declined to 10% of its original size, splitting into four lakes--the North Aral Sea, the eastern and western basins of the once far larger South Aral Sea, and one smaller intermediate lake . By 2009, the southeastern lake had disappeared and the southwestern lake had retreated to a thin strip at the western edge of the former southern sea; in subsequent years, occasional water flows have led to the southeastern lake sometimes being replenished to a small degree . Satellite images taken by NASA in August 2014 revealed that for the first time in modern history the eastern basin of the Aral Sea had completely dried up . The eastern basin is now called the Aralkum Desert . </P> <P> In an ongoing effort in Kazakhstan to save and replenish the North Aral Sea, a dam project was completed in 2005; in 2008, the water level in this lake had risen by 12 m (39 ft) compared to 2003 . Salinity has dropped, and fish are again found in sufficient numbers for some fishing to be viable . The maximum depth of the North Aral Sea is 42 m (138 ft) (as of 2008). </P>

What happened to the aral sea and what caused it