Turtkul
Encyclopedia
Turtkul is a city in Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....

. It is an administrative center of To‘rtko‘l District
To‘rtko‘l District
To‘rtko‘l District is a district of Karakalpakstan in Uzbekistan. The capital lies at To‘rtko‘l....

.

History

The city was founded in 1873 and before 1920 was known as Petroaleksandrovsk . It was then a major jewelry producing center of Uzbekistan, and was equipped with telegraph in 1913 and with a radio station in 1922; the station began regular translations in 1930. In 1932, the city was renamed to Turtkul (from Turkish törktkül meaning square) and between 1932 and 1939 was the capital of the newly formed autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan. The city was standing nearby a major Amu Darya
Amu Darya
The Amu Darya , also called Oxus and Amu River, is a major river in Central Asia. It is formed by the junction of the Vakhsh and Panj rivers...

 River, which is known for significantly altering its flow path several times in its history. In 1932, Amu Darya once more changed its terrain and flooded Turtkul. This and past damage by Amu Darya urged the authorities to move the capital of Karakalpakstal over 170 km to Nukus
Nukus
Nukus is the sixth-largest city in Uzbekistan, and the capital of the autonomous Karakalpakstan Republic. It has a population of 260,000...

 in 1939. The river banks were reinforced, stopping further flooding. However, in 1942 the river suddenly moved on Turtkul destroying it overnight. Consequently, in 1949 Turtkul had been relocated.

Climate

The climate is continental, arid and hot. The coldest month is January with the average temperature of -5 °C (23 °F) and the hottest months is July at 30 °C (86 °F) and above; the annual average is 12.4 °C (54 °F). Annual precipitation is 97 mm; it is the highest in March at about 20 mm and is nearly zero between July and September. The evaporation exceeds precipitation on average by 36 times and sometimes up to 270 times.

Economy

The city has a cotton processing factory, a reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...

 plant, an asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...

plant and an external section of Nukus Medical School. Its population was 22,000 in 1975 and 38,200 in 1991.
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