Aras River Dam
| Aras | |
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Aras River highlighted on a map of the Kura River watershed
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| Country | Turkey, Armenia, Iran, Azerbaijan |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Main source | Erzurum Province, Turkey |
| River mouth | Kura river |
| Length | 1,072 km (666 mi) |
| Discharge |
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| Basin features | |
| Basin size | 102,000 km2 (39,000 sq mi) |
The Aras or Araxes is a river flowing through Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. It drains the south side of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains and joins the Kura River which drains the north side of Lesser Caucasus Mountains. Its total length is 1,072 kilometres (666 mi), covering an area of 102,000 square kilometres (39,000 sq mi). The Aras River is one of the largest rivers in the Caucasus.
In the classical antiquity, the river was known to the Greeks as Araxes (Greek: Αράξης). Its modern Armenian name is Araks or Arax (Armenian: Արաքս). Historically it was also known as Yeraskh (Old Armenian: Երասխ). Its Old Georgian name is Rakhsi (რახსი). In Azerbaijani, the river name is Araz. In Persian and Kurdish is ارس (Aras) and in Turkish it is Aras.
The Aras rises near Erzurum in Turkey and meets with the Akhurian River southeast of Digor from here it flows along the closed Turkish-Armenian border, and then close to the corridor that connects Turkey to Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave. It then continues along the Iranian-Armenian and the Iranian-Azerbaijan border.
The Zangmar, Sariso, Ghotour River, Hajilar River, Kalibar River, Ilghena River, Darreh River and Balha River are the major tributaries of the Aras from the South. In Turkey, the Ghareso river flows in on the North. The Akhurian, Metsamor, Hrazdan, Azat, Vedi, Arpa, Vorotan, Voghdji and Meghri rivers join in from the Armenian (North) side. The Khachin River, Okhchi River, Kuri River and Kandlan River flow in from the Azerbaijan (North) side.
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Wikipedia