The Aral Sea was once the fourth-largest lake in the world. It covered about 68,000 square kilometers (42,253 miles), an area slightly bigger than the U.S. state of West Virginia. It was home to a large fishing industry that fed thriving communities of people in the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which are very ethnically diverse.

The Northern parts of the Aral Sea are in Kazakhstan. This area is the traditional home of ethnic Kazakh people. The southern parts of Uzbekistan are in a region that is the traditional home of the Karakalpak people. When the region was part of the Soviet Union, many other ethnic groups also moved to the area around the sea, including Russians and Tajiks. As the water supply has fallen, tensions between different groups have increased. This image, captured by a U.S. spy satellite in 1964, is one of the first images that we have of the sea taken from space.

In this guided lesson, students explore how the Aral Sea has declined over time using National Geographic MapMaker. Students will use satellite imagery from 1964 to 2025 to compare the shoreline of the sea and land cover data to hypothesize what human impacts might be at play in the region. By clicking the links above, educators will find a student activity with a short article, MapMaker, and activity steps sorted onto different tabs. The second link takes teachers to the teacher’s guide with helpful suggestions, guiding questions, and relevant national standards.