Aral Sea

Though steps are being taken in Kazakhstan to save the smaller North Aral Sea (top right), the South Aral Sea is drying up. The large island in the center is called Vozrozhdeniye Island ("Renaissance Island") and is the site of a decommissioned biological weapons laboratory. "Buried on the island are hundreds of tons of powdered anthrax bacteria, as well as plague, typhus, smallpox, and many other disease-causing organisms." The nearby Savitsky Karakalpakstan State Art Museum is supposed to be amazing, by the way.