Sirdarya Province is a viloyat (province) of 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....

, located in the center of the country on the left bank of Syr Darya

Syr Darya

The Syr Darya , also transliterated Syrdarya or Sirdaryo, is a river in Central Asia, sometimes known as the Jaxartes or Yaxartes from its Ancient Greek name . The Greek name is derived from Old Persian, Yakhsha Arta , a reference to the color of the river's water...

 River. It borders with (Kazahstan), Tajikstan, Toshkent Province

Toshkent Province

Tashkent Province is a viloyat of Uzbekistan, located in the northeastern part of the country, between the Syr Darya River and the Tien Shan Mountains. It borders with Kyrgyzstan, Tajikstan, Sirdaryo Province and Namangan Province. It covers an area of 15,300 km²...

 and Jizzakh Province

Jizzakh Province

Jizzakh Province is a viloyat of Uzbekistan located in the center of the country. It borders with Tajikstan to the south and south-east, Samarqand Province to the west, Navoiy Province to the north-west, Kazakhstan to the north, and Sirdaryo Province to the east. It covers an area of 20,500 km²...

. It covers an area of 5,100 km², and is mostly desert, with the Starving Steppe taking up a significant part of the province's area. The population is estimated to be around 648,100.

Administration

Syrdaryo Province is divided into 9 administrative districts. The capital is the city of Guliston

Guliston

Guliston also spelled as Gulistan , formerly known as Mirzachul , is the capital of Sirdarya Province in eastern Uzbekistan. It lies in the southeastern part of the Mirzachül steppe, 75 miles southwest of Tashkent. It has an approx. population of 77,300...

 (pop. est. 54,000 inhabitants). Other cities and towns include Baxt, Boyovut, Farhod, Qahramon, Sayhun, Sirdaryo

Sirdaryo

Sirdaryo also spelled as Syrdarya is a city in Uzbekistan....

, Shirin and Yangiyer.

Climate

The climate is a typically arid continental climate

Continental climate

Continental climate is a climate characterized by important annual variation in temperature due to the lack of significant bodies of water nearby...

 with extreme differences between winter and summer temperatures.

Economy

The economy is based on cotton

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

 and cereal

Cereal

Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...

 crops, with strong reliance on irrigation

Irrigation

Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...

 and on cattle

Cattle

Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

 breeding. Minor crops include forage plants, vegetables, melons, gourds, potatoes, maize

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

, a variety of fruit

Fruit

In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...

 and grapes. Industry consists of construction materials, irrigation equipment and raw-cotton processing.

Srydarya contains one of Uzbekistan's largest hydroelectric power plants, which generates one third of the country's electricity.