Chapter 19: Central Asia

What does the ancient Persian word "stan" mean?

"Land of" or "place of"

Lie along the shores of the Black and Caspian seas

Small patches of lowland plains

May be one of the most environmentally damaged place on Earth

The Apsheron Peninsula of Azerbaijan

What sea is east of the Caspian Sea?

The Aral Sea

The Caspian Sea was once connected to what sea that connected it to the Mediterranean?

The Black Sea

Which two seas is the western section between?

The Black and Caspian Seas

The Fergana is

Thinly settled and marked by farms

All have substantial oil or natural gas reserves, and although they are landlocked, pipelines connect them to other parts of the world

Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan

Produced the first democratic transfer of power

Kyrgyzstan

The United States Agency for International Development has joined with negatively affected countries in Central Asia to

Protect the river basin of Syr Dar'ya

Most people in Central Asia speak on of the

Turkish languages

Recently opened a pipeline to transport its natural gas to China

Turkmenistan

Connects the Amu Dar'ya to the Caspian Sea

Turkmenistan's Karakum Canal

The Soviet era left profound environmental damage on the

Aral Sea

Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh declared their independence and seized more territory to connect the region to

Armenia

Country with the highest level of urbanization

Armenia

Has been strongly criticized by environmental activists for continuing to run a nuclear power plant in an area prone to earthquakes because they worry a quake could lead to a serious nuclear accident

Armenia

Recently opened a pipeline that allows it to import natural gas from Iran

Armenia

Russia has economic ties and is depended on by

Armenia

Populations of these two countries are shrinking due to low birthrates

Armenia and Georgia

Has the largest oil and natural gas resources

Azerbaijan

Central Asia stretches from the

Black Sea to Asia

Enclaves lead to

Border clashes and displaced persons

The Silk Road crossed Central Asia and was established for trade between

Europe and Asia

Enclave

A territory that belongs to a political unit but is separated from it and surrounded by another political unit

Yurt

A traditional form of housing made of fabric and skins stretched out over wooden poles

Country with the largest population?

Afghanistan

Country with the lowest level of urbanization

Afghanistan

Land mines put into the ground during periods of war is a serious problem of

Afghanistan

One of the most ethnically complex countries in Central Asia

Afghanistan

What country is surrounded by plate boundaries and has many earthquakes?

Afghanistan

What country was not a part of the Soviet Union?

Afghanistan

When the Russian empire expanded into Central Asia after the Russian communist revolution, all but what country became Soviet Socialist Republics?

Afghanistan

Central Asia relies on

Agriculture and natural resource exports

Environmental damage of the Apsheron Peninsula is the result of

Air, water, and soil pollution from the oil and gas industries and from the overuse of pesticides and other harmful chemicals for agriculture

When the US demanded that the Taliban government turn over Bin Laden and they refused,

American and Coalition forces entered Afghanistan an overthrew the Taliban-led government

Tajikistan hopes to build a dam on the tributary of the

Amu Dar'ya

These rivers form the subregion's center and flow into the Aral sea

Amu Dar'ya and Syr Dar'ya

Recently, oil and natural gas were found under the

Caspian Sea

Central Asia is generally dry, but the

Caucasus area is mostly wetter

What are sturgeon eggs?

Caviar

The major crops in the Steppes are

Cereals

The Caucasus has a great variation of

Climate

When Central Asia was a part of the Soviet Union, it was a

Command economy, and some countries haven't moved to a market economy

Maintained strong influences across the region

Dictatorial rule

Scrub grasses can grow in some areas of the

Kara-Kum and Kkyzyl-Kum deserts

Ethnic complexity can lead to

Conflict in some places

The Soviets took water from the Syr Dar'ya and Amu Dar'ya (the two rivers that feed into the Aral Sea) to irrigate fields in their boost to push

Cotton production

To stop Tajikistan from building a river, Uzbekistan is

Cutting off sale of natural gas to Tajikistan and shutting rail service carrying needed food imports

Winds blew salt and harmful chemicals from the dry seabed of the Aral Sea to nearby areas which

Damaged the soil where they landed, ruining farmland, and causing Cancer and respiratory diseases in people

Mountainous and desert areas are

Densely populated

Afghanistan has problems with

Desertification and deforestation

Afghanistan possesses natural resources, but few have been

Developed

Countries of Central Asia are less

Developed

Steppes border desert regions across

Eastern Kazakhstan

Part of Central Asia that slopes upward

Eastern part

Central Asia is working hard to find

Economic and political stability

Highland climate varies with

Elevation and exposure to the wind and sun

Fergana Valley has several

Enclaves

In relation to women, the Soviet government mandated

Equality for women and opened career opportunities for them

When Mongol control weakened

Ethnic groups in the region came into power

In Afghanistan, "community-based demining" (removing mines) is being used which is when

Experienced workers recruit and train local people in the skills needed to identify and disable mines

Important economic activity in all of asia

Farming

One of Central Asia's most ethnically diverse areas

Fergana Valley

Some parts of the Steppe have been turned over for growing crops which has resulted in

Fertile soil

Has the most abundant resources in Central Asia

Kazakhstan

Rare in Central Asia

Forests

Overall population density

Generally low

Who had led Mongol forces to conquer Central Asia?

Genghis Khan

Healthcare spending is generally low, except for in

Georgia

What is the one country in Central Asia that is not landlocked?

Georgia

Who has no oil, but as benefited by allowing pipelines to be built through it so that the oil from the Caspian Sea can be transported to Europe?

Georgia

Who prospered during the Soviet Union's rule?

Georgia

Were Christianized under the Roman Empire and were the 1st countries in the world to declare Christianity as the national religion

Georgia and Armenia

Rely on hydroelectric power and their mountainous terrain give them swiftly flowing rivers that can be tapped for hydroelectric power

Georgia and Kyrgyzstan

What are the three countries of the western section?

Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan

Was home to nuclear bases in the Soviet era during the Civil War and the Soviet government tested nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons

Kazakhstan

Population density per acre of arable land

High

Help explains Central Asia's low economic output

High percent of agricultural workers, lack of good land, and reliance on traditional farming methods

The 2 ranges of the Caucasus mountains are the

Higher ranges (the Greater Caucasus) to the north and the lower ranges (the Lesser Caucasus) to the south

Higher areas (like mountains) usually have this climate

Highland

Central Asia's land is challenging because it is marked mainly by

Highlands, a dry climate, and vast expanses of desert

Climate south of the Caucasus mountains

Humid subtropical

Georgia relies on what for electricity?

Hydroelectric power

Who saw both their industry and agriculture grow rapidly because of Soviet policies?

Kazakhstan

This river used to provide Lake Balkhash with water, but when it was dammed, the lake's water level dropped and the water became more saline

Ile River

Central Asia was under strict Soviet control and they tried to restrain the subregion's native cultures while at the same time

Improved literacy and standards of living

Arabs had conquered parts of Central Asia and introduced

Islam

Uzbekistan fears that a dam on the Amu Dar'ya would

Limit its own ability to use the river's water to irrigate it profitable cotton and the reduced water flow would have an impact on the quality of the river's water

Central Asia is far from any

Major oceans

Plays a small role in Central Asia

Manufacturing

When Armenia was a part of the Soviet Union, it geared more toward

Manufacturing and much of that activity ended after independence

What climate are the shores of the southern parts of the Caspian Sea?

Mediterranean

The geography of the Aral sea today is

Several small, shallow, disconnected bodies of water separated by dry land

Central Asia is an ethnic

Mosaic

Most leaders said they would adopt democracy after the Soviet Union dissolved, but

Most have not

The Soviet's invasion of Afghanistan prompted Afghan freedom fighters to fight the Soviets called

Mujahidin

During the Soviet era, a small population of Armenians lived in an area called

Nagorno-Karabakh

People in the eastern part of Central Asia are largely

Nomads

Use the steppes to graze their herds

Nomads

As a result of nuclear bases in Kazakhstan

Northeastern Kazakhstan remains severely affected by radiation given off

Major resources in Central Asia

Oil and natural gas

The Taliban government sheltered al-Qaeda, a terrorist group, and their leader

Osama Bin Laden

People in the subregion have lived in the deserts by practicing

Pastoralism (the raising of livestock)

Strict quotas have been set for Sturgeon fishing, but because Sturgeon eggs are so profitable, there has been

Poaching (the illegal harvesting of wild animals)

The Semi-Arid climate of the Steppes provides enough

Precipitation to support shrubs and short grasses, proving pasture for animals

The countries around the Caspian Sea agreed to the legally binding Convention for the Protection of the marine environment of the Caspian Sea which commits them to

Reducing agricultural and industrial pollution into the Caspian Sea and conserving fish and other marine wildlife

What did the Mongol period do?

Revive trade and bring prosperity

Leaders in Central Asia have generally

Ruled harshly, ignored human rights, and suppressed dissent

Afghanistan still faces many challenges

Ruling its territory and providing basic services for its people

Locations along the Silk Road became rich trading centers, like

Samarqand

The Red sea has been experiencing

Seafloor spreading

Climate north of the Caucasus mountains

Semi-Arid

Climate of the Steppes

Semi-Arid

Rather than Nagorno-Karabakh being in the control of the republic of Armenia, it was places within the control of the

Soviet republic of Azerbaijan

What kind of vegetation does Central Asia have?

Sparse scrub

The winters in the mountain foothills are mild and allows the people of the Caucasus to grow different crops that the people on the

Steppes

Fishing of what is an important industry in Central Asia?

Sturgeon fishing

Often faces energy shortages

Tajikistan

Relies on Russia as a source of employment income

Tajikistan

After the Soviets left, what Islamic fundamentalist gained control over most of Afghanistan and imposed an extremely strict interpretation of Islam on the people of the country?

Taliban

Armenia has been criticized for the deforestation of the

Teghut forest in northern Armenia

There is severe pollution in what sea in Central Asia?

The Caspian Sea

World's largest inland sea

The Caspian Sea

Central Asia is home to what sea and large lake?

The Caspian Sea and Lake Balkhash

What is the western section of Central Asia sometimes called?

The Caucasus

Where does the western section, the Caucasus, get its name from?

The Caucasus mountains

What agreement has places all Sturgeon species from the Caspian Sea on its list of threatened animals?

The Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species

What valley has water and fertile soil?

The Fergana Valley of eastern Uzbekistan

Covers most of Turkmenistan

The Kara-Kum (or black-sand desert)

Covers the western half of Uzbekistan

The Kyzyl Kum (or red-sand desert)

Left a legacy of environmental issues

The Soviet era

Has urged Tajikistan to halt construction of their dam

The World Bank

Contributing to desertification and deforestation in Afghanistan is

The burning trees and overgrazing by livestock

Mountains dominate what part of the subregion?

The eastern part

Which section of Central Asia contains the 6 "stans"?

The eastern section

What does the eastern section reach from?

The eastern shores of the Caspian Sea to China and Pakistan

One possible future benefit of "community-based demining" is that

Trained Afghanis will be available to help other countries with the same problem

Central Asia in not highly

Urbanized

One of the world's largest cotton producers and exporters and produce fine clothing from silk, learned as a result of their location on the Silk Road

Uzbekistan

Rely on irrigation to grow crops in dry regions an produce and export natural gas

Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan

Make automobiles which are mostly exported to Russia

Uzbekistan factories

Besides the Fergana, other basins are

Vast, dune-covered kums (deserts)

Part of Central Asia that slopes downward

Western part

Higher areas are generally

Wetter and colder than other parts of the subregion

The Aimak people of Afghanistan live in

Yurts