The nature of modern Uzbekistan
The Republic of Uzbekistan is located between the rivers of the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya. The length of the republic's territory from west to east is 1,425 kilometers, from north to south - 930 kilometers.
The northernmost point of Uzbekistan is the Ustyurt plateau, near the western shore of the Aral Sea (45o36' north latitude), the southernmost point in the Surkhandarya region, near the city of Termez (37o11' north latitude), the western point is on the Ustyurt plateau (56o east longitude), the eastern point is in the Fergana Valley, on the border with Kyrgyzstan.
The Republic borders Kazakhstan in the northeast, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in the east and southeast, Turkmenistan in the west, and Afghanistan in the south. The total length of the state borders is 6,221 kilometers. Of these: with Kazakhstan - 2203 kilometers, Kyrgyzstan -1099, Tajikistan -1161, Turkmenistan -1621 and Afghanistan -137 kilometers.
The nature of Uzbekistan is a peculiar combination of flat and mountainous terrain. The plains are located in the southwest and northwest and consist of the Ustyurt plateau, the Amu Darya Delta and the Kyzylkum Desert. There are quite large mountain hills in the central and southwestern parts of this desert. The mountains and foothills, occupying about a third of the republic's territory, are located in the east and southeast, where they meet the powerful mountain formations of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The highest point of the mountains of the republic is 4643 meters.
There are valleys and plains between the mountains. The largest is Ferghana. It stretches for more than 370 kilometers. Its width reaches 190 kilometers. The valley is surrounded by mountains on three sides and is open only from the west.
Uzbekistan's nature is characterized by high seismicity, and there are known cases when tremors reached eight to nine points. The Tashkent earthquake, which occurred on April 26, 1966, is one of the most devastating earthquakes.
The largest rivers of both Uzbekistan and the whole of Central Asia are the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya. The total length of the Amu Darya is 1,437 kilometers, and the Syr Darya is 2,137 kilometers. However, the Syr Darya, surpassing the Amu Darya in length, is inferior to it in terms of water content.