Sherabad River
Encyclopedia
The Sherabad River, Shirabad River or Sherabad Darya (Darya meaning river
) is a right tributary of the Amu Darya
in south-central Tajikistan
. It is about 130 kilometres (80.8 mi) long and drains an area of 11000 square kilometre. The river rises in the arid foothills of the Gissar Range
and flows south through steppe
before flowing through a mountain ridge to empty into the Central Asia
plain near Shirabad
. The river turns south and flows past Akkürgon, to flow into the Amu Darya near Shuro-obod
. Because of irrigation
water use, most of the water in the Sherabad no longer reaches the Amu Darya and 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.
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
) is a right tributary of the Amu Darya
Amu Darya
The Amu Darya , also called Oxus and Amu River, is a major river in Central Asia. It is formed by the junction of the Vakhsh and Panj rivers...
in south-central Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
. It is about 130 kilometres (80.8 mi) long and drains an area of 11000 square kilometre. The river rises in the arid foothills of the Gissar Range
Gissar Range
Gissar Range is a mountain range in Central Asia, in the western part of the Pamir-Alay system, stretching over 200 km in the general east-west direction across the territory of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan...
and flows south through steppe
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
before flowing through a mountain ridge to empty into the Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
plain near Shirabad
Shirabad
Shirabad or Shir-Abad may refer to:*ShirAbad Waterfall, Iran*Shirabad, Afghanistan*Parakar, Armenia, formerly Shirabad...
. The river turns south and flows past Akkürgon, to flow into the Amu Darya near Shuro-obod
Shuro-obod district
Shuro-obod District or Nohiya-i Shuro-obod is a district in Khatlon province, Tajikistan. Its capital is Shuro-obod....
. Because of irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
water use, most of the water in the Sherabad no longer reaches the Amu Darya and its eventual destination in the Aral Sea
Aral Sea
The Aral Sea was a lake that lay between Kazakhstan in the north and Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan, in the south...
. 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.