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Caspian Sea
Watershed
The major rivers
running into the Caspian Sea in Iranian shorelines flow from the northern
Alborz attitudes like: Aras, Sefid Rud, Chalus, Haraz, Se hezar, Babol,
Talar, Tajan, Gorgan, Atrak, Qarasu and Neka.
Aras
runs as long as 950km inside Iran before getting to the Caspian Sea. It
also irrigates many areas like Moghan Plain at the NW of Iran.
Sefid Rud is
said to be 600-780km long from where it originates, Kurdistan Mountains.
Gilan plain is a fertile area thanks to Sefid Rud. Fish is farmed in this
river.
Chalus
River is another important river at the north of Iran for fish farming.
Haraz
is a 150km long river irrigating a large plain in Mazandaran province
before getting to the Caspian Sea. Trout is the major fish there.
Se Hezar
irrigates Tonekabon plain.
Babol
is a very suitable river for fish to spawn and breed.
Talar
is 150km long and irrigates a plain called Shirgah at Mazandaran province.
Tajan
is 120km long that passes by Sari, the capital of Mazandaran province, and
gives life to its banks all the way down to the sea.
Gorgan
is approximately 300km long irrigating Gorgan plain before getting to its
watershed.
Atrak
is 500km long and does not always reach Hosein Qoly Bay in Mazandaran
province, because it sometimes does not get adequate water from other
rivers.
Qarasu
is 80km long and originates from the east of Gorgan.
Neka
is approximately 100 km long originating from Savad Kuh in Gorgan.
Persian Gulf &
Oman Sea Watersheds
The Zagros serves as
the main originating headspring of the rivers running into the Persian
Gulf & Oman sea watersheds. Among all these rivers, the major ones are:
Arvand Rud, Gamasb, Karun, Jarahi, Zohreh, Dalaki, Mend, Shur, Minab,
Mehran and Naband.
Arvand Rud
is formed as a result of two rivers joining in Iraq called Euphrates and
Tigris. It is from 500m to 1000m wide and brings larger amount of water to
the Persian Gulf than any other rivers.
Gamasb
flows from Hamedan Mountains, joins another river and is called Seymareh
in Luristan. Finally its name is changed into Karkheh in Khoozestan before
emptying into the Persian Gulf.
Karun
is 850km long and
irrigates many areas in the west of Iran. It is navigable and the best
time of the year for navigation in it is from December to June.
Zayandeh Rud
splits from Karun and runs toward central Iran.
Dez
joins Karun too.
Zal
and Marun
join and form Jarahi, which finally empties into Karun.
Zohreh
flows from Kohkyluyeh at the north of Khuzestan province.
Dalaki
originates from Arzhan plain in Fars province and runs into the Persian
Gulf near Bandar-e-Abbas.
Mend
flows from the NW of Shiraz and runs into the Persian Gulf near Bandar-e-Abbas.
Shur
empties into the Persian Gulf after running into marshy and sandy lands at
the strait of Hormoz.
Rudan
and Jaghin form a river called Minab that empties into the
Persian Gulf at the north of the strait of Hormoz.
Mehran
and Naband flow from Larestan Mountains at the south of Fars
province and empty into the Persian Gulf near Bandar-e-Khamir.
Central
& Lateral Watersheds
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"Uromiyeh" is the watershed
for the following rivers: Zarineh Rud (240km long), Talkheh
Rud (160km long), Simineh Rud, Safi Rud and other
minor rivers.
-
?Masileh?
at the east of Qom, is the watershed for the following rivers:
Jajrud,
Karaj,
Shur and Masileh.
-
?Hoz-e-Soltan &
Hoz-e-Mareh?, at NW of Masileh, are the watersheds for the
following rivers:
Masileh,
Shur and Hableh Rud.
-
Gav
Khoony Marshland Watershed
?Gav khoony?
marshland, at SE of Esfehan, is a 700km long watershed filled with the
water coming from Zayandeh Rud.
Central
Fars Watersheds
There are three
watersheds in this region:
?Neyriz?
(filled with the water coming from Kor river), ?Maharlu?
(filled with the water coming from Qarabaq river) and ?Parishan?
(filled with the water coming from two springhead: Famur and
Pol-e-Abgineh).
Hamun-e-Jazmurian
Watershed
Halil Rud
and Bampur are the two rivers emptying into this lake. The lake
itself is situated at SE of Iran.
Kavir-e-Lut
Watershed
This desert is a
watershed within which there are some rivers emptying into it and some
subsiding and disappearing into the ground. The rivers are:
Shur
(permanent river), Shur Gaz, Tah Rud, Rud posht,
Nesa, Rigan, Derakhtangan (permanent river), Siraj,
Andujerd, Joftan, Kahnoaj, Keshit,
Pashooyeh, Nakhl Ab, Ab Khazan, and Chah Nely.
Dasht-e-Kavir
Watershed
Most of the rivers
emptying into this desert, which is also served as a watershed, are
seasonal and subside into the ground before emptying into the pit. They
are:
Kalimoor
(500km long), Kal
Shur (250km long), Hableh Rud, Damghan and Mojin.
Sistan
Watershed
Only %40 of this
large watershed is in Iran and the rest is in Afghanistan. It consists of
several fresh water lakes that are a series of pits with no specific
borders. The most well known lakes in this region are ?Hamun-e-Sistan?,
?Hamun-e-Sabery? and ?Hamun-e-poozak?. When adequate rain falls, they get
the main portion of water from a river called Hirmand originating
from Afghanistan. It passes through 1200km of mountains and lower lands.
Other minor rivers in the area are Farah Rud, Har Rud and
Khash from Afghanistan and Bandan and Shur from Iran
emptying into Hirmand.
Namakzar Watershed
It is a pit at the
north of Hamun-e-Sistan. Namakzar is a small lake getting water from all
the rivers running from its western side.
Mashakal
Watershed
Situated at the
north of ?Hamun-e-Sistan?, it gets water from these rivers: Mashakal,
Simish and Rootak.
Qaraqom watershed
It is situated at
the NE of Iran inside Turkmenistan territory getting water from the
following rivers:
Hari Rud
(coming from Afghanistan, irrigating Sarakhs Oasis and running to Qaraqom
sand land) and other rivers joining it like Kashsf Rud, Jam
and Bakhazar originating from Iran.
Therefore, although
plenty of the rivers were introduced here, water has always been a vital
issue. Many of the rivers of Iran contain salty water. Many of them are
seasonal. This makes fresh drinkable water even more valuable.
Written by: Rahman
Mehraby |
