Geography, Weather, & Wildlife of Uzbekistan
Geography
Mountains
Uzbekistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia. It borders Kazakhstan to the west and north, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan to the south, and Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to the east.
Uzbekistan's high point is in the east where the Tian Shan Mountains help create a border with their neighbors to the east. From here there are a number of rivers flowing west, once reaching the Aral Sea, but in many cases are now diverted to form irrigation for farming. Outside of these rivers, most of the country from the mountains in the east to the Aral Sea in the west is desert. The Aral Sea is shrinking annually, but the rivers that still do flow into the sea from the south form a fertile delta in northwestern Uzbekistan.
Weather
Uzbekistan has a continental climate system with hot summers and cool winters. Winter temperatures though don't generally drop too low as the fairly flat country averages about 30° F (-1° C) during this time, but gets little snow or rain. The mountains in the country's east get much cooler and are regularly below freezing, most commonly at nights. Summers, which are from about June to August can get very hot in the dry, low-lying desert with daily highs often exceeding 100° F (38° C). Springs and falls (autumns) tend to shift between these extremes, with most precipitation falling in the spring or late winter, although the country receives very little rain even during this time.