m the Caspian; on the south by
the alluvial district of Khiva; and on the east by the Kyzyl-kum, or Red
Sand Desert. On the north the shores are comparatively low, and the
coast-line is broken by a number of irregular bays, of which the most
important are those of Sary-chaganak and Paskevich. On the west an
almost unbroken wall of rock extends from Chernychev Bay southwards,
rising towards the middle to 500 ft. The southern coast is occupied by
the delta of the Oxus (Jihun, Amu-darya), one of the arms of which, the
Laudan, forms a swamp, 80 m. long and 20 broad, before it discharges
into the sea. The only other tributary of any size that the sea receives
is the Jaxartes (Sihun, Syr-darya) which enters towards the northern
extremity of the east coast, and is suspected to be shifting its
embouchure more and more to the north. This river, as well as the Amu,
conveys vast quantities of sediment into the lake; the delta of the
Syr-darya increased by 13-3/4 sq. m. between 1847 and 1900. The eastern
coast is fringed with multitudes of small islands, and other islands,
some of considerable size, are situated in the open towards the north
and west. Kug-Aral, the largest, lies opposite the mouth of the
Syr-darya, cutting off the Kichkineh-denghiz or Little Sea. The next
largest island is the Nikolai, nearly in the middle. Navigation is
dangerous owing to the frequency and violence of the storms, and the
almost total absence of shelter. The north-east wind is the most
prevalent, and sometimes blows for months together. The only other
craft, except the steamships of the Russians, that venture on the
waters, are the flat-bottomed boats of the Kirghiz.

In regard to the period of the formation of the Aral there were formerly
two theories. According to Sir H.C. Rawlinson (_Proc. Roy. Geog. Soc._,
March 1867) the disturbances which produced the present lake took place
in the course of the middle ages; while Sir Roderick Murchison contended
(_Journ. of Roy. Geog. Soc._, 1867, p. cxliv. &c.) that the Caspian and
Aral existed as separate seas before and during all the historic period,
and that the main course of the rivers Jaxartes and Oxus was determined
in a prehistoric era. The former based his opinion largely on historical
evidence, and the latter trusted principally to geological data. There
is no doubt that in recent historical times Lake Aral had a much greater
extension than it has at the present time, and that its area is now
dim