Euphrates and Tigris
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Posted by Jim Down in Travelling section |
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The Euphrates, along with the Tigris River, provided much of the water that supported the development of ancient Mesopotamian culture. Mesopotamia literally means "between the rivers" in Greek, and this area was the site of such early states as Sumer, Babylonia , and Assyria. The Euphrates and Tigris rivers join in southeastern Iraq near Al Qurnah to form the Shatt al Arab, which empties into the Persian Gulf.
Tigris
Tigris (Arabic Dijlah), river in southwest Asia, rising in Turkey and flowing through Iraq before emptying, as the Shatt al Arab, into the Persian Gulf. The Tigris is 1900 km (1180 mi) long and drains an area of more than 110,000 sq km (more than 43,000 sq mi).
The river originates in the eastern Anatolian highlands of Turkey and flows southeast into Iraq after briefly running along the extreme eastern portion of the Syria-Turkey border. Once in Iraq, the river valley flattens and widens and the Tigris zigzags slowly to the southeast. In southern Iraq the Tigris joins with the Euphrates to form the Shatt al Arab.
Major tributaries of the Tigris are the Great Zab, Little Zab, Diyal?, and the Al ‘Uzaym. While all of these rivers join the Tigris in Iraq, the waters of the Great Zab rise in Turkey and those of the Little Zab and the Diyal? rise in Iran.
Major cities on the river include Diyarbakyr in Turkey and Musel and Baghdad in Iraq. The Tigris is too shallow for navigation by all but very small boats, especially south of Baghdad where the river fans out and meanders through dense marshland.
Construction of the Samarra Dam in the 1950s allowed for diversion of Tigris waters to the Tharthar depression in central Iraq to assist in flood control. In the past the Tigris carried significant quantities of silt into the Shatt al Arab, contributing to the extension of the delta into the Persian Gulf.
Flood control projects, as well as the construction of dams on the major tributaries of the Tigris for irrigation, have decreased silt deposits and the flow of freshwater to southern Iraq. This, combined with increased pollution, has raised the salinity of the lower Tigris and robbed the soil of nutrients, harming local agriculture.
Euphrates
Euphrates (Arabic Al Furat), river in southwest Asia, rising in Turkey and flowing through Syria and Iraq before joining the Tigris to form the Shatt al Arab. The Euphrates is about 2700 km (about 1700 mi) long and drains an area of about 444,000 sq km (about 171,430 sq mi). Although less than 30 percent of the river’s drainage basin is in Turkey, roughly 94 percent of the river’s water originates in the Turkish highlands.
The Euphrates River is one of the most important rivers in the world. In northern Iraq the Euphrates forms the western boundary of the area known as Al Jazirah. To the southeast the alluvial lands between the two rivers was the site of the glorious Babylonian civilizations of ancient times.
The Euphrates is important solely for its water supply. The river is the source of political tension, as Turkey, Syria and Iraq all compete for the use of its waters for irrigation and the generation of hydroelectric power. For centuries the river formed the east limit of Roman control.
During the supremacy of the Eastern Roman Empire, numerous towns and centers of art and literature flourished along its bank. Much historical data has been yielded by archaeological excavations on the banks of the Tigris and the Euphrates.
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