The ARAL Sea is a dried-up Asian sea located in Central Asia. It was once the fourth largest lake in the world, but due to the diversion of its feeder rivers for irrigation and other human activities, it has been shrinking since the 1960s. By 2009, the ARAL Sea had split into two smaller bodies of water, the North ARAL Sea and the South ARAL Sea. The North ARAL Sea has been partially restored, while the South ARAL Sea continues to shrink.