Zeravshan

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Zeravshan

Zeravshan River (also Zarafshan or Zarafshon, , , from the Persian

Persian language

name=Persian|nativename=|pronunciation=[f??r'si]|image=|caption=Farsi in Perso-Arabic script |states= Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Bahrain....
word ?? ?????, zar afshan, meaning "the sprayer of gold"), whilst smaller and less well-known than the two great rivers of Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east, and from southern Russia in the north to northern India in the south....
, the Amu Darya

Amu Darya

Syr Darya

Syr Darya is a river in Central Asia, sometimes known as the Jaxartes or Yaxartes from its Ancient Greek name . The Greek name is derived from Old Persian, Yakhsha Arta , a reference to the color of the river's water....
(or Jaxartes), is if anything more valuable as a source of irrigation in the region. Its name, "sprayer of gold" in Persian

Persian language

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Zeravshan River (also Zarafshan or Zarafshon, , , from the Persian

Persian language

Central Asia

Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east, and from southern Russia in the north to northern India in the south....
, the Amu Darya

Amu Darya

Syr Darya

Persian language

name=Persian|nativename=|pronunciation=[f??r'si]|image=|caption=Farsi in Perso-Arabic script |states= Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Bahrain....
, 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 rises at on the fringes of the Pamirs

Pamir Mountains

The Pamir Mountains are a mountain range in Central Asia formed by the junction or knot of the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun Mountains, and Hindu Kush ranges....
in Tajikistan

Tajikistan

Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and People's Republic of China to the east....
, flowing due west for some 300 km, passing Penjikent before entering Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan , is a Landlocked_country#Doubly_landlocked_country country in Central Asia, formerly part of the Soviet Union....
at , where it turns west-to-north-west, flowing past the legendary city of Samarkand

Samarkand

Samarkand , is the second-largest city in Uzbekistan and the capital of Samarqand Province.The city is most noted for its central position on the Silk Road between China and the West, and for being an Islamic centre for scholarly study....
, which is entirely dependent on the oasis

Oasis

In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source. Oases also provide habitat for animals and even humans if the area is big enough....
thus created, until it bends left again to the west north of Navoiy

Navoiy

Navoiy is a city and the capital of Navoiy Province in the southwestern part of Uzbekistan. It is located at latitude 40? 5' 4N; longitude 65? 22' 45E, at an altitude of 382 meters....
and further to the south-west, passing Bukhara

Bukhara

Bukhara , also spelled as Bukhoro and Bokhara, from the Soghdian ?uxarak , is the Capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 237,900 ....
before it loses itself in the desert beyond the city of Karakul

Karakul (disambiguation)

Karakul may refer to:*Kara-Kul, a lake in Tajikistan*Karakul Lake, in Xinjiang province, China*Karakul *Qorako?l, a city in Bukhara Province in Uzbekistan, spelled in Uzbek Qorako?l...
(Qorako‘l

Qorako‘l

Qorako?l is a town in the Buxoro Province of Uzbekistan. It is the capital of Qorako?l district ....
), not quite reaching the Amu Darya

Amu Darya

The Amu Darya is the longest river in Central Asia. Its name is sometimes represented in a single word, Amudarya .Amu is said to have come from the city of Amul, now known as T?rkmenabat....
, of which it was formerly a tributary.

The Zeravshan range (or Zeravshan mountains) rises to the south of the river. The range extends over 370 km in the east-west direction along the south of Sughd Province in Tajikistan

Tajikistan

Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and People's Republic of China to the east....
, reaching the highest point of 5,489 m () in its central part. South-west of Penjikent the range crosses from Tajikistan

Tajikistan

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan , is a Landlocked_country#Doubly_landlocked_country country in Central Asia, formerly part of the Soviet Union....
, where it continues at decreasing elevations (1,500-2,000 m) along the internal border between Samarkand and Surkhandarya provinces, until it blends into the desert south-west of Samarkand

Samarkand

Zarafshan

Zarafshan is a city of over 65,000 inhabitants in the center of Uzbekistan's Navoiy Province. Located in the Kyzylkum desert, it receives water from the Amudarya by a 220-km pipeline....
is also a city in Uzbekistan's Navoiy Province

Navoiy Province

Navoiy Province is a viloyat of Uzbekistan located in the northwest of the country. The Kyzyl-Kum Desert takes up a large portion of its territory, which is the largest of the provinces of Uzbekistan except for the autonomous Karakalpakstan Republic....
, called "the gold capital of Uzbekistan".

Zeravshan

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