Zeravshan (river)

The Zeravshan[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2] (Uzbek & Tajik: Зарафшон, Romanized: Zarafshon) is a river in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, Central Asia. Its name, "spreader of gold" in Persian, refers to the presence of gold-bearing sands in the upper reaches of the river. To the ancient Greeks it was known as the Polytimetus.[2] It was also formerly known as Sughd River. The river is 877 kilometres (545 mi) long and has a basin area of 17,700 square kilometres (6,800 sq mi).[3]

"Zarafshan River" redirects here. For the river in Xinjiang, China, see Yarkand River.
For other uses, see Zarafshan (disambiguation).
Zeravshan
The Zeravshan in Ayni District, Tajikistan
The Zeravshan in the Amu Darya basin
Zeravshan (river) is located in Uzbekistan
Zeravshan (river)
Mouth
Location
CountryTajikistan, Uzbekistan
Physical characteristics
SourceZeravshan Glacier
 • coordinates39°30′N 70°35′E
MouthQorakoʻl oasis
 • coordinates
39.5477°N 63.869°E / 39.5477; 63.869
Length877 km (545 mi)
Basin size17,700 km2 (6,800 sq mi)
Basin features
CitiesPanjakent, Samarkand, Bukhara
Tributaries 
 • leftFan Darya, Kshtut, Magiyan
Location of Zeravshan River in Central Asia.
Zeravshan River and Samarkand from space.[1]

Geographic position

It rises at the Zeravshan Glacier, close to where the Turkestan Range and the Zeravshan Range of the Pamir-Alay mountains meet, in Tajikistan. In its upper course, upstream from its confluence with the Fan Darya, it is also called Matcha.[4] It flows due west for some 300 kilometres (190 mi), passing Panjakent before entering Uzbekistan at 39°32′N 67°27′E, where it turns west-to-north-west, flowing past the legendary city of Samarkand, where it feeds the Dargom Canal, which is entirely dependent on the oasis thus created, until it bends left again to the west north of Navoiy and further to the south-west, passing Bukhara before it is lost in the desert beyond the city of Qorakoʻl (Karakul), not quite reaching the Amu Darya, of which it was formerly a tributary.

Tajikistan aims to construct several hydro-electric power stations on Zerafshan River and has signed the MOU in November 2013 with Zarvon Corporation for the financing and construction of the plants. All previous MOU's have been voided.

See also

Notes
  1. Romanized variously as Zarafshan, Zarafshon, Zerafshan, Zaraafshaan, etc.
  2. Tajik: Дарёи Зарафшон, romanized: Daryoyi Zarafshon; Uzbek: Zeravshon, Зеравшон, زېرەۋشان; from Persian Persian: زرافشان, romanized: Zarâfšân – meaning "the spreader of gold"

References
  1. Samarkand, Uzbekistan
  2. Public Domain Smith, William, ed. (1857). "Oxia Palus". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. Vol. 2. London: John Murray. p. 505.
  3. Зеравшан (река в Ср. Азии), Great Soviet Encyclopedia
  4. "Third National Communication of the Republic of Tajikistan under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change" (PDF). 2014. p. 84.

Further reading
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zeravshan River.
  • В.В. Бартольд "К Истории Орошения в Туркестане" (Collected Works, Vol.3) (Москва) 1965
  • V.V. Barthold "Turkestan Down to the Mongol Invasion" (London) 1968
  • Robert Lewis "Early Irrigation in West Turkestan" Annals of the Association of American Geographers Vol.56 No..3 (Sept. 1966) pp467–491
  • Edgar Knobloch "Beyond the Oxus" (London) 1972


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