| General Information Uzbekistan has an area slightly larger than that state of California, and is one of two countries in the world that has the dubious honor of being doubly landlocked. (Goods must pass through two other countries to reach a port, the only other country which shares this trait is Liechtenstein.) Traditionally the economic, political, and distribution hub of Soviet Central Asia, Uzbekistan borders Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The majority of Uzbekistan is desert steppe broken by fertile oases along the banks of two great rivers, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya. Uzbekistan has dry winters and no more than eight inches of rainfall per year, but its hot, dry summers extending from May to October, and water for irrigation produce excellent growing conditions for crops such as cotton, tobacco, fruits, and vegetables. The fertile Ferghana Valley boasts 6 million people, including large minorities of ethnic Kyrgyz, Tajiks, and Russians. The Ferghana Valley is split between three countries: Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and is home to a very diverse ethnic mix. The Ferghana Valley produces a major share of the country's cotton and grain crops and contains numerous manufacturing plants, as well as natural gas and oil fields. Uzbekistan's central region consists mostly of desert, broken by the oases of the Zarafshan River, Qarshi Steppe, and Surkhandarya River. This region is best known for the ancient Silk Road cities of Samarkand and Bukhara, which together claim more than 600,000 inhabitants and comprise the heart of Uzbekistan's tourism industry. Central Uzbekistan is also home to the mining center of Navoi and contains the majority of Uzbekistan's gold and other mineral deposits, as well as the largest natural gas and oil fields. Irrigation along the Zarafshan and other rivers provides a basis for agriculture. | |
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