Karasu (Euphrates)

This article is about the major tributary of the Euphrates. For rivers with similar names, see Karasu (disambiguation).

The Karasu (Turkish for 'black water') or Western Euphrates is a long river in eastern Turkey, one of the two sources of the Euphrates. It has a length of about 450 km. To the ancient Greeks the river was known as the Τηλεβόας (Telebóas).

Course

The river rises on the Dumlu Dağ in Erzurum Province,[1] and drains the plains around the city of Erzurum. It is joined by the Serçeme River, then flows west through Erzincan Province, turning south, then west and receiving the tributary Tuzla Su. Between Erzincan and Kemah it is joined by the Gönye River and passes through a rocky gorge.[1] Near the small town of Kemaliye it receives its last tributary, the Çaltısuyu, before turning sharply southeast to flow through a deep canyon[1] into the Keban Dam Lake on the Euphrates. Before construction of the Keban Dam the Karasu joined the Murat River 10 km above the dam site and 13 km above the town of Keban.[2]

History

In 1996, 15 Turkish soldiers were killed when their personnel carrier fell into the river during a routine crossing.[3]

When temperatures in Turkey dropped below -25 °C in 2005 the river froze over and was used as a football pitch by locals.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911) vol 9, page 894
  2. 1 2 "SOCCER ON FROZEN RIVER". Turkish Daily News. December 31, 2004.
  3. ↑ "Turkish personnel carrier falls into river". Xinhua News Agency. April 22, 1996.

Coordinates: 38°52′29″N 38°47′38″E / 38.8747°N 38.7939°E / 38.8747; 38.7939

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/21/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.