Toʻrtkoʻl (; , also spelled as Turtkul (), is a city in

Karakalpakstan Karakalpakstan, officially the Republic of Karakalpakstan, is an autonomous republic and part of Uzbekistan. It spans the northwestern portion of Uzbekistan. Its capital is Nukus (' / ). Karakalpakstan has an area of , and has a population of a ...

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

and the administrative center of the

Toʻrtkoʻl District Toʻrtkoʻl (; , also spelled as Turtkul (), is a city in Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan and the administrative center of the Toʻrtkoʻl District. Its population is 58,200 (2016). History The city was founded as a Russian garrison after the Khivan ...

. Its population is 58,200 (2016).

History

The city was founded as a Russian garrison after the Khivan campaign of 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 ''törtkül'' meaning ''square'') and between 1932 and 1939 was the capital of the newly formed autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan. The city was located near the major

Amu Darya The Amu Darya ( ),() also shortened to Amu and historically known as the Oxus ( ), is a major river in Central Asia, which flows through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Rising in the Pamir Mountains, north of the Hindu Ku ...

River, which is known for having significantly altered its flow path several times in its history. In 1932, the Amu Darya once more changed direction and flooded Turtkul. This and past damage by the Amu Darya prompted the authorities to move the capital of Karakalpakstan over 170 km to

Nukus Nukus ( / / ; / / ) is the sixth-largest city in Uzbekistan and the capital of the autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan. The population of Nukus as of 1 January 2022 was 329,100. The Amu Darya river passes west of the city. Administratively, ...

in 1939.Турткуль

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; , ''BSE'') is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Great Russian Enc ...

(in Russian) The river banks were reinforced, stopping further flooding. However, in 1942, the river suddenly flowed towards Turtkul, destroying it overnight. Consequently, in 1949 Turtkul was relocated.

Climate

Toʻrtkoʻl has a

cold desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''BWk''). The climate is continental, arid and hot. The coldest month is January with the average temperature of and the hottest month is July with an average temperature of . The annual average is . 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.Kenneth Walton (2007
The Arid Zones
Transaction Publishers, , p. 37

Economy

The city has a cotton processing factory, a

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

plant, an

asphalt Asphalt most often refers to: * Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete * Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...

plant and an external section of Nukus Medical School.

Notable person

* Tuti Yusupova, longevity claimant, died in 2015, possibly 134 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tortkol Populated places in Karakalpakstan Cities in Uzbekistan Syr-Darya Oblast