Aral sea, 1973 - 2009, satellite image. North is at top. This inland lake is found between Uzbekistan (west) and Kazakhstan (east) and used to be the fourth largest lake in the world. Images taken by satellite, from left to right, 1973, 1987, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2009. Since the 1960s, it has lost more than half of its volume. This is due to overuse of the feeder rivers (the Syr Darya and Amu Darya) in irrigation of cotton and paddy fields.