Zarafshan River
Zarafshan River (also Zaravshan or Zarafshon, Tajik: Дарёи Зарафшон, Daryoyi Zarafşon/Darjoji Zarafşon; Uzbek: Zeravshon/Зеравшон/زېرەۋشان, from the Persian word Zar-afšān, زرافشان, meaning "the spreader of gold") is a river in Central Asia. Its name, "spreader of gold" in Persian, refers to the presence of gold-bearing sands in the upper reaches of the river. To the ancient Greeks it was known as the Polytimetus. It was also formerly known as Sughd River.
It rises at 39°30′N 70°35′E / 39.500°N 70.583°E on the fringes of the Pamirs in Tajikistan, flowing due west for some 300 kilometres (190 mi), passing Penjikent before entering Uzbekistan at 39°32′N 67°27′E / 39.533°N 67.450°E, where it turns west-to-north-west, flowing past the legendary city of Samarkand, which is entirely dependent on the oasis thus created, until it bends left again to the west north of Navoiy and further to the south-west, passing Bukhara before it is lost in the desert beyond the city of Qorako‘l (Karakul), not quite reaching the Amu Darya, of which it was formerly a tributary.
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