"height and may be several kilometers in length. Chains of such structures are common, as are steep elevations and smooth, concrete-like clay deposits formed by the rapid evaporation of flood waters in the same area for a number of years. Large marshy salt flats, formed by capillary action in the soil, exist in many depressions, including the Garaşor, which occupies 1,500 square kilometers in the northwest. The Sandykly Desert west of the Amu Darya river is the southernmost extremity of the Qizilqum Desert, most of which lies in Uzbekistan to the northeast. Turkmenistan has a cold desert climate that is"
"a source of the Amu Darya or Oxus River. The Great Pamir extends to the south of the lake. The lake is on the path of the Silk Road. It was referred to as ""Great Dragon Pool"" () in Chinese historical records. The lake was once in the territory of the mir of Wakhan, but the lake and river were established as the border between Russia and Afghanistan by agreement between the Russians and the British in 1895. Although there is a probable reference to the lake in Marco Polo's account, the first European known to have visited the lake"
"With Russia having conquered the Khanate of Khiva and the Emirate of Bukhara, and with Britain controlling India (including what is now Pakistan), the two powers agreed to leave Afghanistan as an independent buffer state between them. In 1873 Britain and Russia agreed on a rough formulation of the border, with the Amu Darya declared to be the border going east from the vicinity of the village of Khwaja Salar to Lake Zorku, with the Wakhan Corridor to remain in Afghanistan. The western section of the border (i.e. the bulk of the modern Afghan-Turkmen boundary) was to be determined at"
"conquered the Khanate of Khiva and the Emirate of Bukhara, and with Britain controlling India (including what is now Pakistan), the two powers agreed to leave Afghanistan as an independent buffer state between them. In 1873 Britain and Russia agreed on a rough formulation of the border, with the Amu Darya declared to be the border going east from the vicinity of the village of Khwaja Salar to Lake Zorku, with the Wakhan Corridor to remain in Afghanistan. The western section of the border (i.e. the bulk of the modern Afghan-Turkmen boundary) was to be determined at a later date"
"Uzboy The Uzboy (sometimes rendered Uzboj) was a distributary of the Amu Darya which flowed through the northwestern part of the Karakum Desert of Turkmenistan until the 17th century, when it abruptly dried up, eliminating the agricultural population that had thrived along its banks. (It was a part of the ancient region of Dahistan). Now a dry river channel and a center for archaeological excavations, the Uzboy flowed some , from a branch in the Amu Darya River via Sarykamysh Lake to the Caspian Sea. A riverine civilization existed along the banks of the river from at least the 5th"
"Kunduz River The Kunduz River (; ) is a tributary of the Amu Darya in northern Afghanistan. It rises in Bamyan Province in the Hindu Kush, and in its upper reaches is also known as the Bamyan River or the Surkhab River. After passing through Kunduz Province, the Kunduz River merges into the Amu Darya. The Kunduz rises in the glacier region on the north side of the Koh-i-Baba range in Bamiyan Province, some 20 km south west of the town of Bamiyan, where the river is known as the Bamiyan River. It flows east in a deep valley separating"
"Mary and Ashgabat to Turkmenbashi on the Caspian coast. The 1,400-kilometer canal, designed mainly for irrigation, is navigable for 450 kilometers from its Caspian terminus. Because water is withdrawn for irrigation, the Amu Darya is navigable only about 250 kilometers downstream from the Afghanistan border to Turkmenabat. The official beginning of the organized navigation on the Amu Darya is 1873. In 1890, based on the Amu Darya military dam. In 1917 there were on the Amu Darya 20 and 50 self-propelled vessels and about 1500 boats. In 1923 was created the Central Asian Turkmenabat Shipping. Shipping Company provided services to"
"Aral Sea until the beginning of the Holocene, and it is known that the Amu Darya flowed into the Caspian Sea via the Uzboy channel until the Holocene. The Syr Darya formed a large lake in the Kyzyl Kum during the Pliocene known as the Mynbulak depression. Most of the area around the Aral Sea was inhabited by desert nomads who left few written records. However, the Oxus delta to the south has a long history under the name of Khwarezm. It was once the westernmost border of Tang dynasty China. Russian naval presence on the Aral Sea started in"
"course of the Amu Darya in what is now northern Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan; during the 1st century CE, they expanded their territory to include the Punjab and much of the Ganges basin, conquering a number of kingdoms across the northern part of the Indian subcontinent in the process. The Kushans conquered the central section of the main Silk Road and, therefore, had control of the overland trade between India, and China to the east, and the Roman Empire and Persia to the west. Emperor Kanishka was a great patron of Buddhism; however, as Kushans expanded southward toward the Indian"
"Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve is in Tajikistan close to the Afghan border where the Vakhsh River and the Panj River join to form the Amu Darya. The reserve stretches over 40 km from the southwest to the northeast. The 460 km reserve is described by the WWF as the most important nature reserve in Central Asia, because of its large size and ecological diversity. In addition it is very important for rare species of tugay, or riparian forest, ecosystems. The highest elevations reach about 1,200 m above sea level. The climate is continental and dry, the"
"Syr Darya The Syr Darya is a river in Central Asia. It originates in the Tian Shan Mountains in Kyrgyzstan and eastern Uzbekistan and flows for 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 endorrheic basin of the Aral Sea, the other being the Amu Darya. 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"
"its eventual destination in the Aral Sea. After flowing out of the mountains the remaining water in the river is usually salty so it is unsuitable for further water use. In dry years, most of the river dries up before reaching the Amu Darya. The name is a Persian/Tajiki compound made of 'sher' or 'shir' for lion', ""abad/obod"" for Enghlish term 'abode""and ""darya/daryo"" for a large river or sea. Sherabad River The Sherabad River, Shirabad River, Sherabad Darya or Shirabad Darya. It is a right tributary of the Amu Darya in south-central Uzbekistan. It is about long and drains an"
"Drangiana Drangiana or Zarangiana (, ""Drangianē""; also attested in Old Western Iranian as , ""Zraka"" or ""Zranka"", was a historical region and administrative division of the Achaemenid Empire. This region comprises territory around Hamun Lake, wetlands in endorheic Sistan Basin on the Iran-Afghan border, and its primary watershed Helmand river in what is nowadays southwestern region of Afghanistan. In ancient times Drangiana was inhabited by an Afghan tribe which the ancient Greeks called Sarangians or Drangians. Drangiana was possibly subdued by the Medes, and later, certainly, by the expanding Persian Achaemenid Empire of Cyrus the Great (559-530 BC - with"
"dividing it almost evenly until its delta in the Panj River, also being known as Amu Darya, or in antiquity the Oxus) on the border with Afghanistan. Khorugh is known for its poplar trees that dominate the flora of the city. Until the late 19th century, Khorugh was in an area disputed between the Emir of Bukhara, Shah of Afghanistan, Russia and Britain. The Russians emerged the winners of the region after The Great Game, which fixed the current northern border of Afghanistan on the Panj River and established the territory of Russian Pamir around Khorugh. Before 1896, when the"
"tributaries are the Muksu and the Obihingou; the Vakhsh River proper begins at the confluence of the Obihingou and Surkhob rivers. After it exits the Pamirs, the Vakhsh passes through the fertile lowlands of southwest Tajikistan. It ends when it flows into the Panj River to form the Amu Darya, at the border of Tajikistan and Afghanistan. The Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve, which was the last habitat of the now-extinct Caspian tiger in the former USSR, is located at the confluence of the Vakhsh and the Panj. The catchment area of the Vakhsh is 39,100 km, of which 31,200 km"
"Wakhan Corridor The Wakhan Corridor ( ""Wāxān Dahléz"", ) is a narrow strip of territory in northeastern Afghanistan that extends to China and separates Tajikistan from Pakistan. The corridor, wedged between the Pamir Mountains to the north and the Karakoram range to the south, is about long and wide. From this high mountain valley the Panj and Pamir Rivers emerge and form the Amu Darya. A trade route through the valley has been used by travellers going to and from East, South and Central Asia since antiquity. Politically, the corridor is part of Afghanistan's Badakhshan Province. In the 19th century,"
"between Tajikistan and Afghanistan by the AKDN along the Panj River. (The Amu Darya begins at the junction of the Panj River and Vakhsh River.) The 135-metre long suspension bridge has a single-track 3.5 meters wide and a carrying capacity of 25 metric tonnes. It carries both commercial and passenger traffic and represents a permanent overland link between the two countries. The first bridge crossing the Tajik-Afghan border was opened in November 2002, connecting Tem in Tajikistan and Demogan in Afghanistan. It too was constructed with assistance from the Aga Khan Foundation. An additional bridge, connecting Tajikistan and Afghanistan, spanning"
"eastern Kazakhstan, traditionally called Jetysu or Semirechye which contains Lake Balkhash. In the center is the small but densely-populated Ferghana valley. In the south is Bactria, later called Tocharistan, which is bounded on the south by the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan. The Syr Darya (Jaxartes) rises in the Ferghana valley and the Amu Darya (Oxus) rises in Bactria. Both flow northwest into the Aral Sea. Where the Oxus meets the Aral Sea it forms a large delta called Khwarazm and later the Khanate of Khiva. North of the Oxus is the less-famous but equally important Zarafshan River which waters"
"the remote Pamir region in 1895, who were charged with demarcating the boundary between Russian and British spheres of interest from Lake Victoria eastwards to the Chinese border. The report of the Commission proved the absolute impracticality of any Russian invasion of India through the Pamir mountains. The result was that Afghanistan became a buffer state between the two powers. It was agreed that the Amu Darya river would form the border between Afghanistan and the Russian empire. Russia gained full possession of all of the Pamir Mountains, except for Taghdumbash, which would be the subject of a later Afghan-China"
"Aral-Paygambar Aral-Paygambar (Uzbek: Payg'ambar Orol; Russian: Арал-Пайгамбар), which means the island of the prophet, is an island on the Amu Darya river which separates Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. The nature reserve was created in 1960 on the island of Aral-Paygambar on the Amu Darya river near Termez. The island has 3.1 hectares for conservation of riparian forests and the unique population of Bukhara deer. In all there are 150 species of plants, 21 species of mammals, 143 species of birds, 25 species of reptiles, and c. 35 species of fish. Many rare and endangered species, including large and small Amu Darya"
"into the searing desert will evaporate, adding that it is likely to be contaminated with toxic pesticides and fertilisers. It is also feared that Turkmenistan may seek to siphon water from the Amu Darya river, which runs along the country's northern border with Uzbekistan. That could trigger a dispute between the two countries and inflict further damage of the environment. Golden Age Lake Golden Age Lake known as Altyn Asyr locally, or Karakum lake, is the name of a man made lake under construction in the Karashor depression in the Karakum Desert of Turkmenistan. Upon completion, the lake will span"
"to the shore. But the boat stopped in the middle of the Amu Darya river, near Termez. At this spot an island quickly rose where his body was buried thereafter. The mausoleum was built in the 11th and 12th centuries, and consists of a mosque with its adjoining premises, a burial vault and two commemoration rooms. Aral-Paygambar Aral-Paygambar (Uzbek: Payg'ambar Orol; Russian: Арал-Пайгамбар), which means the island of the prophet, is an island on the Amu Darya river which separates Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. The nature reserve was created in 1960 on the island of Aral-Paygambar on the Amu Darya river"
"Amu Darya, the Ersari and its major subtribes moved east to the banks of the main course of the Amudarya. One sub-tribe, the Ali-Eli also moved eastwards, but remained near Kaka region, which is now in Ahal Province of Turkmenistan. Ersari baba is the legendary leader of Ersari people, of all Turkmen, who lived at 13-14th centuries in Mangyshlak (Mangystau Province) and Balkan mountains (Balkan Province). He had been the founder of the Sain-Khan Turkmen confederation and considered to be father of Ersari people. He assembled all Turkmen to himself, the Turkmen that remained in Central Asia after the Mongol"
"boundary) was not finally delimited until 1893-95, with the Afghans agreeing to waive any claims to lands north the Amu Darya. This agreement also stipulated the position of the land border in section east of Lake Zorkul up to China, with a series of boundary pillars subsequently erected. In 1921 a Soviet-Afghan treaty was signed whereby Russia agreed “to hand over to Afghanistan the frontier districts which belonged to the latter in the last century, observing the principles of justice and self-determination of the population inhabiting the same."" However this treaty was never implemented, and was explicitly annulled by the"
"Arabic scholars have sought to identify the ""land of Cush"" with Hindu Kush, and Gihon with Amu Darya (Jihon/Jayhon of the Islamic texts). Amu Darya was known in the medieval Islamic writers as Jayhun or Ceyhun in Turkish. This was a derivative of Jihon, or Zhihon as it is still known by the Persians. First-century Jewish historian Josephus associated the Gihon river with the Nile. Gihon has also been associated with the Araxes (modern Aras) river which flows through Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. A location put forward by Ken Ham is that the Gihon river no longer exists, due"
"Kushk River The Kushk (known in Turkmenistan as ""Guşgy"") is a river which, during a portion of its course, forms the boundary between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, and used to form the southernmost border of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The Kushk is fed by the Aq Robat and Galleh Chagar rivers in north-western Afghanistan. After 150 km, it flows into the Murghab River. It is also known as ""Kushka River"". The river gives its name to Kushk, the chief town in the Afghan province of Herat, situated some from the border, and to Kushka (now Serhetabat), a former"
". Turkic speakers probably settled the Amu Darya, Syr Darya and Zarafshan river basins since at least 600–700 CE, gradually ousting or assimilating the speakers of Eastern Iranian languages who previously inhabited Sogdia, Bactria and Khwarezm. The first Turkic dynasty in the region was that of the Kara-Khanid Khanate in the 9th–12th centuries, who were a confederation of Karluks, Chigils, Yaghma and other tribes. Uzbek can be considered the direct descendant or a later form of Chagatai, the language of great Turkic Central Asian literary development in the realm of Chagatai Khan, Timur (Tamerlane), and the Timurid dynasty (including the"
"relinquish the farthest territory captured in their advance, but retain Panjdeh. The agreement delineated a permanent northern Afghan frontier at the Amu Darya, with the loss of a large amount of territory, especially around Panjdeh. This left the border east of Lake Zorkul in the Wakhan region to be defined. This territory was claimed by China, Russia and Afghanistan. In the 1880s, the Afghans had advanced north of the lake to the Alichur Pamir. In 1891, Russia sent a military force to this area and its commander, Yanov, ordered the British Captain Francis Younghusband to leave Bozai Gumbaz in the"
"Main Turkmen Canal The Main Turkmen Canal was a large-scale irrigation project in Soviet Turkmenistan. The canal was intended to transport water from the Amu Darya river to Krasnovodsk (now Türkmenbaşy), a city in Turkmenistan on the coast of the Caspian Sea. The canal was going to use the course of the ancient dry Uzboy River bed. The building of canals and channels for irrigation in Turkmenistan began in the 1930s. In 1929, the Bassaga-Kerkinskiy Canal was completed at a length of 100 km. The development of the outlet design for the Amu Darya began in 1932. The design was"
"the navigable part of the Amu Darya length of 813 kilometers, and the Karakum Canal length of 200 kilometers. Combining a universal and specialized vessels capable of carrying a variety of cargo and passengers. Türkmenderýaýollary Türkmenderýaýollary (Turkmen Riverways) is a state-owned operator of waterways and river-ports in Turkmenistan. The company operates of river-ways on Amu Darya and Karakum Canal (63rd in the world). The company belongs to the State Service of Maritime and River Transportation of Turkmenistan. The official beginning of the organized navigation on the Amu Darya is 1873. In 1890, based on the Amu Darya military dam. In"
"the region. In 1869, when Clarendon proposed the Amu Darya river as the basis for a neutral zone between British and Russian spheres of influence, Alexander Gorchakov proposed Afghanistan as the neutral zone. Russia feared the influence that a Muslim power with British support might have on the other khanates in the region. In 1782 George Forster, a civil servant of the East India Company, undertook a journey that began in Calcutta, Bengal and passed through Kashmir, Afghanistan, Herat, Khorassan, Mazanderan, crossed the Caspian Sea by ship, and then traveled to Baku, Astrakhan, Moscow, St Petersburg and then by ship"
"a rich history of Persian architecture and literature, traditions that were continued into the Emirate Period. Prominent artists of the period include the poet Kiromi Bukhoroi, the calligrapher Mirza Abd al-Aziz Bukhari and the scholar Rahmat-Allah Bukhari. Throughout this period, the madrasahs of the region were renowned. Emirate of Bukhara The Emirate of Bukhara (; ) was a Central Asian state that existed from 1785 to 1920 in what is now modern-day Uzbekistan. It occupied the land between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, known formerly as Transoxiana. Its core territory was the land along the lower Zarafshan River,"
"Hari (Afghanistan) The Hari River (Dari: هری رود ""Harī Rōd""; ) or Herat River is a river flowing from the mountains of central Afghanistan to Turkmenistan, where it forms the Tejend oasis and disappears in the Karakum Desert. ""Rōd"" means ""river"" in Persian. In Turkmenistan it is known as the Tejen or Tedzhen river and passes close to the city of Tedzhen. To the Ancient Greeks it was known as the Arius. In Latin, it was known as the Tarius. The river originates in the Baba mountain range, part of the Hindu Kush system, and follows a relatively straight course"