Amu Darya
| Amu Darya Oxus River | |
|---|---|
Amu Darya at Nukus, Uzbekistan | |
Map of area around the Aral Sea. Aral Sea boundaries are c. 2008. The Amu Darya drainage basin is in orange, and the Syr Darya basin in yellow. | |
| Etymology | Named for the city of Amul (now Türkmenabat) |
| Native name | |
| Location | |
| Countries | |
| Region | Central Asia |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Pamir River/Panj River |
| • location | Lake Zorkul, Pamir Mountains, Afghanistan/Tajikistan |
| • coordinates | 37°27′04″N 73°34′21″E / 37.45111°N 73.57250°E |
| • elevation | 4,130 m (13,550 ft) |
| 2nd source | Kyzylsu River/Vakhsh River |
| • location | Alay Valley, Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan |
| • coordinates | 39°13′27″N 72°55′26″E / 39.22417°N 72.92389°E |
| • elevation | 4,525 m (14,846 ft) |
| Source confluence | Kerki |
| • location | Tajikistan |
| • coordinates | 37°06′35″N 68°18′44″E / 37.10972°N 68.31222°E |
| • elevation | 326 m (1,070 ft) |
| Mouth | Aral Sea |
• location | Amudarya Delta, Uzbekistan |
• coordinates | 44°06′30″N 59°40′52″E / 44.10833°N 59.68111°E |
• elevation | 28 m (92 ft) |
| Length | 2,400 km (1,500 mi) |
| Basin size | 534,739 km2 (206,464 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 2,525 m3/s (89,200 cu ft/s) |
| • minimum | 420 m3/s (15,000 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 5,900 m3/s (210,000 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Panj River |
| • right | Vakhsh River, Surkhan Darya, Sherabad River, Zeravshan River |
The Amu Darya, historically known as the Oxus, is a major river in Central Asia which flows through Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Rising in the Pamir Mountains, north of the Hindu Kush, the Amu Darya is formed by the confluence of the Vakhsh and Panj rivers, in the Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve on the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan, and flows from there north-westwards into the southern remnants of the Aral Sea. However, today the Amu Darya does not reach the Aral Sea, and its mouth is in a dried-up area, of what was once the Aral Sea. In its upper course, the river forms part of Afghanistan's northern border with Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. In ancient history, the river was regarded as the boundary of Greater Iran with Turan, which roughly corresponded to present-day Central Asia. The Amu Darya has a flow of about 70 cubic kilometres per year on average.