The shrinking of the Aral Sea, 1973-2009 Published August 14, 2014 at 1121 × 1021 in A Guide to the “Stans” of Central Asia Photographs illustrating the diminution of the Aral Sea. From left to right: (top row) 1973, 1989, 1999, (bottom row) 2001, 2003, 2009 (US Geological Survey and NASA)