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The Helmand River (also spelled Helmend, Helmund, Hirmand; Pashto
Pashto language

Pashto , also known as Afghani, is an Indo-European language spoken primarily in Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. Pashto belongs to the East Iranian languages branch of the Indo-Iranian languages language family....
: , Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
: ) is the longest river
River

A river is a natural stream of water, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, or another stream. In some cases a river flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water....
 in Afghanistan
Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia....
 and the primarily watershed
Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean....
 for the endorheic Sistan Basin
Sistan Basin

The Sistan Basin is an inland endorheic basin encompassing large parts of south-western Afghanistan and south-eastern Iran, one of the driest regions in the world and an area subjected to prolonged droughts....
.

The Helmand river stretches for 1,150 km (715 miles). It rises in the Hindu Kush
Hindu Kush

The Hindu Kush is a mountain range located in eastern and central Afghanistan, northwestern Pakistan and northeastern India.The origin of the name Hindu Kush is disputed, despite its coinage apparently dating back no further than c.1330....
 mountains, about 80 km (50 miles) west of Kabul
Kabul

Kabul is the Capital and largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of approximately three million. It is an economic and cultural centre, situated 5,900 foot above sea level in a narrow valley, wedged between the Hindu Kush mountains along the Kabul River....
 , passing north of the Unai Pass
Unai Pass

Unai Pass traverses the Sanglakh Range, an offshoot of the Hindukush, west of Kabul. It is the main road connection of Kabul with Hazarajat....
. It crosses south-west through the desert of Dashti Margo
Dashti Margo

Dashti Margo is a desert region in the southern provinces of Helmand Province and Nimruz Province in Afghanistan. The desert is adjacent to the Khash Desert and Rigestan....
, to the Seistan marshes and the Hamun-i-Helmand
Hamun-i-Helmand

Hamun-e Helmand is a marshy lake located in southeast Iran near the Afghanistan border and fed by the Helmand River. Together with Iran's Hamun-e Puzak and Hamun-e Saber rivers, it forms the extended wetlands of Seistan on the large border region in southeastern Iran and soutwestern Afghanistan....
 lake region around Zabol
Zabol

Zabol is a city in the province Sistan and Baluchistan, in Iran, on the border with both Afghanistan and Pakistan. It should not be confused with Zabul in Afghanistan....
 at the Afghan-Iranian border .

The river remains relatively salt-free for much of its length, unlike most rivers with no outlet to the sea.






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The Helmand River (also spelled Helmend, Helmund, Hirmand; Pashto
Pashto language

Pashto , also known as Afghani, is an Indo-European language spoken primarily in Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. Pashto belongs to the East Iranian languages branch of the Indo-Iranian languages language family....
: , Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
: ) is the longest river
River

A river is a natural stream of water, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, or another stream. In some cases a river flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water....
 in Afghanistan
Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia....
 and the primarily watershed
Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean....
 for the endorheic Sistan Basin
Sistan Basin

The Sistan Basin is an inland endorheic basin encompassing large parts of south-western Afghanistan and south-eastern Iran, one of the driest regions in the world and an area subjected to prolonged droughts....
.

The Helmand river stretches for 1,150 km (715 miles). It rises in the Hindu Kush
Hindu Kush

The Hindu Kush is a mountain range located in eastern and central Afghanistan, northwestern Pakistan and northeastern India.The origin of the name Hindu Kush is disputed, despite its coinage apparently dating back no further than c.1330....
 mountains, about 80 km (50 miles) west of Kabul
Kabul

Kabul is the Capital and largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of approximately three million. It is an economic and cultural centre, situated 5,900 foot above sea level in a narrow valley, wedged between the Hindu Kush mountains along the Kabul River....
 , passing north of the Unai Pass
Unai Pass

Unai Pass traverses the Sanglakh Range, an offshoot of the Hindukush, west of Kabul. It is the main road connection of Kabul with Hazarajat....
. It crosses south-west through the desert of Dashti Margo
Dashti Margo

Dashti Margo is a desert region in the southern provinces of Helmand Province and Nimruz Province in Afghanistan. The desert is adjacent to the Khash Desert and Rigestan....
, to the Seistan marshes and the Hamun-i-Helmand
Hamun-i-Helmand

Hamun-e Helmand is a marshy lake located in southeast Iran near the Afghanistan border and fed by the Helmand River. Together with Iran's Hamun-e Puzak and Hamun-e Saber rivers, it forms the extended wetlands of Seistan on the large border region in southeastern Iran and soutwestern Afghanistan....
 lake region around Zabol
Zabol

Zabol is a city in the province Sistan and Baluchistan, in Iran, on the border with both Afghanistan and Pakistan. It should not be confused with Zabul in Afghanistan....
 at the Afghan-Iranian border .

The river remains relatively salt-free for much of its length, unlike most rivers with no outlet to the sea. This river is used extensively for irrigation, although a buildup of mineral salts has decreased its usefulness in watering crops. Its waters are essential for farmers in Afghanistan, but it feeds into Lake Hamun
Lake Hamun

Lake Hamun is a lake in the Province of Sistan and Baluchistan, Iran. At its greatest extent during the rainy season, the lake has an area of 1,600 km?....
 and is also important to farmers in Iran's southeastern Sistan and Baluchistan province
Sistan and Baluchistan Province

Sistan o Baluchestan is one of the 30 provinces of Iran of Iran. It is in the southeast of the country, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan and its capital is Zahedan....
.

A number of hydroelectric dams have created artificial reservoirs on some of the Afghanistan’s rivers including the Kajakai reservoir
Kajakai Dam

The Kajaki Dam is one of the two major hydroelectric power dams of Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. It is located 55 miles north-west of Kandahar....
 on the Helmand River. The chief tributary of the Helmand river is the Arghandab river
Arghandab River

Arghandab is a river in Afghanistan, about 400 kilometers in length. It rises in the Hazarajat country north-west of Ghazni, and flows south-west falls into the Helmund 30 km below Girishk....
 (confluence at ) which also has a major dam near the city of Kandahar
Kandahar

Kandahar, also spelled Qandahar, is the third largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of 324,800 . It is the capital of Kandahar province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level....
.

The boundaries of Helmand has been known as kingom of Sakastan
Sakastan

Sakastan, Sakasthana or Sakasthan is a term indicating the south and western regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan, partly corresponding to the modern Sistan and Baluchestan Province of Iran....
.

See also

  • Arachosia
    Arachosia

    Arachosia or Arachotae is the latinized form of Greek language name of an Achaemenid Empire and Seleucid Empire governorate in the eastern part of their respective empires, and that was inhabited by the Iranian peoples Arachosians or Arachoti ....
  • Chakhansur
    Chakhansur

    Chakhansur is a sparsely inhabited district near Nimroz / Zaranj in Nimruz Province in Afganistan. It's population is approximately 406. The economy is primarily based on agriculture and the necessary water for irrigation is dependent on the status of the Sistan Basin, an endorheic basin which periodically becomes dry....


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