Amu Darya | |
Oxus, Jayhoun, də Āmu Sind, Vaksu, Amu River | |
Looking at the Amu Darya from Turkmenistan
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Name origin: Named for the city of Āmul (now Turkmenabat) | |
Countries | Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan |
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Region | Central Asia |
Tributaries | |
- left | Panj River |
- right | Vakhsh River, Surkhan Darya, Sherabad River, Zeravshan River |
Primary source | Pamir River/Panj River |
- location | Lake Zorkul, Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan |
- elevation | 4,130 m (13,550 ft) |
- coordinates | 37°27′04″N 73°34′21″E / 37.45111°N 73.57250°E |
Secondary source | Kyzyl-Suu/Vakhsh River |
- location | Alay Valley, Pamir Mountains, Kyrgyzstan |
- elevation | 4,525 m (14,846 ft) |
- coordinates | 39°13′27″N 72°55′26″E / 39.22417°N 72.92389°E |
Source confluence | Kerki |
- elevation | 326 m (1,070 ft) |
- coordinates | 37°06′35″N 68°18′44″E / 37.10972°N 68.31222°E |
Mouth | Aral Sea |
- location | Amudarya Delta, Uzbekistan |
- elevation | 28 m (92 ft) |
- coordinates | 44°06′30″N 59°40′52″E / 44.10833°N 59.68111°ECoordinates: 44°06′30″N 59°40′52″E / 44.10833°N 59.68111°E |
Length | 2,400 km (1,491 mi) |
Basin | 534,739 km2 (206,464 sq mi) |
Discharge | |
- average | 2,525 m3/s (89,170 cu ft/s) |
Map of the Amu Darya watershed
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The Amu Darya (Persian: آمودریا, Âmudaryâ; Turkmen: Amyderýa/Амыдеря; Uzbek: Amudaryo/Амударё/ەمۇدەريا; Tajik: Амударё; Pashto: د آمو سيند, də Āmú Sínd), also called the Amu River and historically known by its Latin name, Oxus, is a major river in Central Asia. It is formed by the junction of the Vakhsh and Panj rivers, at Qal`eh-ye Panjeh in Afghanistan, and flows from there north-westwards into the southern remnants of the Aral Sea. In ancient times, the river was regarded as the boundary between Greater Iran and Turan.
In classical antiquity, the river was known as the Ōxus in Latin and Ôxos in Greek—a clear derivative of Vakhsh, the name of the largest tributary of the river. In Vedic Sanskrit, the river is also referred to as Vakṣu (वक्षु). The Avestan texts too refer to the River as Yakhsha/Vakhsha (and Yakhsha Arta ("upper Yakhsha") referring to the Jaxartes/Syr Darya twin river to Amu Darya).