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The Two Rivers
Tigris (Arabic Dijlah, Turkish Dicle), river in southwestern Asia, rising in Turkey and flowing through Iraq before joining the Euphrates to form the Shatt al Arab, which empties into the Arab Gulf. The Tigris is 1,900 km (1,180 mi) long and drains an area of more than 110,000 sq km (43,000 sq mi). The river originates in the mountains of eastern Turkey and flows southeast into Iraq after briefly forming the extreme eastern portion of the border between Syria and Turkey. Once in Iraq, the Tigris zigzags slowly to the southeast, and its valley flattens and widens. In southern Iraq the Tigris joins with the Euphrates to form the Shatt al Arab, which is 170 km (110 mi) long and flows to the head of the Arab Gulf. In ancient times the area between the Tigris and the Euphrates was the site of some of the worlds earliest urban civilizations. Major tributaries of the Tigris are the Great Zab, Little Zab, DiyālE and Al Uzaym. All of these rivers join the Tigris in Iraq. However, the waters of the Great Zab rise in Turkey and those of the Little Zab and the DiyālErise in Iran. Major cities on the river include Diyarbakır in Turkey and Mosul and Baghdād in Iraq. The Tigris is too shallow for navigation by all but very small boats, especially south of Baghdād where the river fans out and meanders through dense marshland. In the past, significant flooding often occurred when melting winter snow in the highlands, together with rains in late winter and early spring, swelled the Tigris. Construction of the SāmarrāEDam in the 1950s enabled the diversion of Tigris waters to the Tharthar depression in central Iraq to assist in flood control. Another measure sought to reduce the significant quantities of silt that the Tigris was carrying into the Shatt al Arab. The excess silt was contributing to the extension of the delta into the Arab Gulf. Flood control projects, as well as the construction of dams on the major tributaries of the Tigris for irrigation, reduced the silt deposits but also decreased the flow of fresh water to southern Iraq. This decreased flow allowed salt water from the Arab Gulf to mix into the lower Tigris. The reduction in fresh water combined with increased pollution to rob the soil of nutrients, harming local agriculture.
Euphrates (Arabic Al Furāt, Turkish Furāt), a 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, along with the Tigris River, provided much of the water that supported the development of ancient Mesopotamian culture. Mesopotamia literally means between the riversEin Greek, and this area was the site of such early states as Sumer, Babylonia, and Assyria. The Euphrates is 2,700 km (1,700 mi) long and drains an area of 444,000 sq km (171,000 sq mi). Although less than 30 percent of the rivers drainage basin is in Turkey, roughly 94 percent of the rivers water originates in the Turkish highlands. The Korasuyu (Karasu), the Murat, and several other Turkish rivers join near Elâzığ, in east central Turkey, to form the upper Euphrates. The Euphrates reaches Syria 120 km (75 mi) northeast of the city of Ḩalab (Aleppo). In eastern Syria it is joined by the Khābūr River, a major tributary originating in southeastern Turkey. The course of the Euphrates roughly parallels that of the Tigris River; shortly after the rivers enter Iraq they are never more than 160 km (100 mi) apart. In northern Iraq the Euphrates forms the western boundary of the area known as Al Jazīrah (Arabic for The IslandE, while the Tigris forms the eastern boundary. To the southeast the alluvial lands between the two rivers was the site of the glorious Babylonian civilization of ancient times. After flowing within 40 km (25 mi) of the Tigris, the Euphrates splits into two branches, and comes together again 180 km (110 mi) away. The Euphrates and Tigris rivers join in southeastern Iraq near Al Qurnah to form the Shatt al Arab, which empties into the Arab Gulf. The Euphrates has an average annual flow of 28 billion cu m (990 billion cu ft); the flow is heaviest in the months of April and May. Major cities on the Euphrates include Ar Raqqah and Dayr az Zawr in Syria, and KarbalāE Al Hillah, and An Najaf in Iraq.
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