The environmental history of the Syr Darya river, which runs through the Ferghana Valley, today shared between Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, is traced through a series of reflections on the environmental and cultural heritage of the region. Based on archival documents, interviews, memoirs, and fieldwork, Flora J. Roberts sketches the cascade of consequences, intended and otherwise, that stemmed from the decision to dam the Syr Darya river.