Qashqadaryo Province
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Qashqadaryo Province | |
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| Qashqadaryo viloyati | |
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| Country | Uzbekistan |
| Capital | Qarshi |
| Area | 28,400 km² (10,965 sq mi) |
| Population | 2,029,000 (2005) |
| Density | 71 /km² (184 /sq mi) |
| ISO 3166-2 | UZ-QA |
Qashqadaryo Province (Uzbek: Qashqadaryo viloyati, Қашқадарё вилояти), (old spelling Kashkadarya Province) is a viloyat (province) of Uzbekistan, located in the southern part of the country in the basin of the Qashqadaryo River and the western slopes of the Pamir Mountains. It borders with Turkmenistan, Samarqand Province, Buxoro Province and Surxondaryo Province. It covers an area of 28,400 km². The population is estimated to be around 2,029,000, with some 73% living in rural areas.
Qashqadaryo Province is divided into 14 administrative districts. The capital is Qarshi (pop est 177,000 inhabitants). Other major towns include Shahrisabz, Kitob, Koson, Muborak, Yakkabog‘, G‘uzor, and Qamashi.
The climate is a typically arid continental climate and partly semi-tropical.
Natural resources include significant petroleum and natural gas reserves, with the Mubarekh Oil and Gas Processing Plant as the region’s largest industry. Other industry includes wool processing, textiles, light industry, food processing and construction materials. Major agricultural activities include cotton, various crops and livestock. The irrigation infrastructure is very well developed with the large Talimardjan reservoir as a reliable water source.
Shahrisabz, the birthplace of Amir Temur is the main tourist attraction in this region.
The province was formerly host to a major United States Air Force military base, located at the former Soviet airbase at Khanabad, outside Qarshi. Following the Andijan massacre in May 2005, however, relations between Uzbekistan and the U.S. cooled, and after the U.S. joined European countries in calling for an independent international investigation of the incident, the Uzbek government called on the U.S. to vacate the Kharshi Khanabad base.
The province has a well-developed transport infrastructure, with over 350 km of railways and 4000 km of surfaced roads.
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