Syr Darya
The Syr Darya (/ˌsɪər ˈdɑːr.jə/, Persian pronunciation: [siːɾ dæɾˈjɒː]), historically known as the Jaxartes (/dʒækˈsɑːrtiːz/, Ancient Greek: Ἰαξάρτης), is a river in Central Asia. The name, which is Persian, literally means Syr Sea or Syr River. It originates in the Tian Shan Mountains in Kyrgyzstan and eastern Uzbekistan and flows for 2,256.25 kilometres (1,401.97 mi) west and north-west through Uzbekistan and southern Kazakhstan to the northern remnants of the Aral Sea. It is the northern and eastern of the two main rivers in the endorheic basin of the Aral Sea, the other being the Amu Darya (Jayhun).
| Syr Darya Jaxartes | |
|---|---|
Syr Darya at Kyzylorda, Kazakhstan | |
Map of area around the Aral Sea. Aral Sea boundaries are c. 2008. The Syr Darya drainage basin is in yellow, and the Amu Darya basin in orange. | |
| Etymology | unknown |
| Native name | |
| Location | |
| Country | Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan |
| Cities | Khujand, TJ, Tashkent, UZ, Turkestan, KZ, Kyzylorda, KZ, Baikonur, KZ |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Confluence of Naryn and Kara Darya |
| • location | Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan |
| • coordinates | 40°54′03″N 71°45′27″E |
| • elevation | 400 m (1,300 ft) |
| Mouth | North Aral Sea |
• location | Kazaly, Kazakhstan |
• coordinates | 46°09′15″N 60°52′25″E |
• elevation | 42 m (138 ft) |
| Length | 2,256.25 km (1,401.97 mi) |
| Basin size | 402,760 km2 (155,510 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 1,180 m3/s (42,000 cu ft/s) |
| • minimum | 170 m3/s (6,000 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 3,900 m3/s (140,000 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Kara |
| • right | Naryn, Chirciq, Arys, Sarysu |
| Protection status | |
| Official name | Lesser Aral Sea and Delta of the Syrdarya River |
| Designated | 2 February 2012 |
| Reference no. | 2083 |
In the Soviet era, extensive irrigation projects were constructed around both rivers, diverting their water into farmland and causing, during the post-Soviet era, the virtual disappearance of the Aral Sea, once the world's fourth-largest lake. The point at which the river flows from Tajikistan into Uzbekistan is, at 300 m (980 ft) above sea level, the lowest elevation in Tajikistan.