The Araks River - the water flow of Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan

The Araks River seizes the territory of Transcaucasia: Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, etc. According to historical facts, it can be argued that the water flow was a conditional boundary between the great Russian empire and Persia (now Iran). The first mention of the reservoir appeared long ago - in the VI century BC. E. After that, the hydronymus was not changed once, different variations appeared: Araks, Aros, etc. The total length is 1075 km, and the basin stretched for 102 thousand square meters. Km. On the territory of the water flow there is a special hydraulic engineering complex, which received the same name. The Araks River is 76% located in Armenia. In the upper reaches, the reservoir flows along mountain slopes, so it has a restless water character. In this area, it flows to the side of the gorge. On its way the stream meets a flat slope, which was formed due to deposits.

Name of the river

In the first mention the hydrological object has the name "Araks". The Russian variant originated from the Greek word. Yeraskh is also often found hydronym, it is he who is considered the "parent" of the current version. The Azerbaijanis call the Araz River, the Turks - Aras, the inhabitants of Iraq - Eres. Unfortunately, to this day it was not possible to find out the origin of the name.

The old legend says that the Araks River is named after the son of King Aramais. Modern researchers suggest that the name originated from the ancient word, which in translation means "murky, dark". It is possible that the "relative" was the Turkic "Araz" ("tributary").

Geographical information

The water stream is not navigable. It has many tributaries, which differ in different sizes, and are also unevenly distributed in different countries. The Araks River merges with Kura at the end of its path.

On the banks of the stream are several settlements. Since 2012, a hydroelectric power station has been built on the river; The construction, according to plans, will be completed in 2017. The hydropower plant will consist of two parts: Megrinskaya belongs to Armenia, and Karachilarskaya belongs to Iran. The approximate cost of the project is estimated at more than $ 300 million. In addition to this station, there is a waterworks on the stream, which is currently functioning.

The question "In which country of the CIS does the Araks River flow?" Is constantly asked by hydrologists. As already mentioned, most of it passes through Armenia; A small plot captures the Nakhichevan, Azerbaijan and Iranian republics.

Flow

Until the moment of merging with Akhuryan, the Araks is a river with a mountainous nature of the current. In this interval, it flows in a small gorge. The water flow flows in the north direction before convergence with the waters of the Murz. After a short interval the pond turns to the east. After that the Araks River (Armenia widely uses its resources) again falls into the mountain pass. Then the watercourse enters the plain, which was created, in fact, by Araks himself. It annually brings to this area several millions of sediments. Here, at last, the stream is divided into channels, and the banks lower their level. In the next plain the river also falls through the next gorge. After it Araks flows in a narrow valley and flows into the Kura.

Kura (mouth)

Kura (or Karasuyu) is located on the territory of three countries at once. We are talking about Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia. The total length of the water flow is 1364 km. The source of the reservoir is in the highlands, which is located near the town of Kars. Its current flows through Georgia, from which the stream enters Azerbaijan, and at the end it flows into the Caspian Sea. Often the river is located in valleys and gorges, but in the vicinity of Tbilisi it flows through a dry steppe. It is at this point that its valley reaches its maximum in terms of width. The food is predominantly mixed, but snow predominates. Araks flows into the Kura for 200 km from the Caspian waters.