(Redirected from Kura river)
Confluence of the Aragvi and Mtkvari (Kura) rivers,
Mtskheta.

Mtkvari (Kura) River near Old Town,
Tbilisi.

Semi-desert landscape near
Vardzia.
'Kura' (
Turkish: 'Kura',
Georgian: მტკვარი - 'Mtkvari',
Azerbaijani: 'Kür') is a
river in the
Caucasus Mountains. Starting in Eastern
Turkey (formerly
Georgian province of Tao), it flows through Turkey to Georgia, then to
Azerbaijan, where it receives the
Aras River as a right
tributary, and enters the
Caspian Sea. The total length of the
river is 1,364 km.
The name Kura is taken from the name ''Kurosh'' which is the
Persian
pronunciation of the name of the Persian king
Cyrus the Great. In ancient western documents this river was known as Cyrus.
The
Georgian name of Kura is Mtkvari, meaning "slow one". The name Kura was adopted first by the
Russians and later by the
European cartographers. In some definitions of Europe, the Kura River defines the borderline between Europe and
Asia.
[1]
Previously navigable up to
Tbilisi in Georgia, it is now much slower and shallower, as its power has been harnessed by
hydroelectricity stations. The river is moderately polluted by major industrial centers like Tbilisi and
Rustavi in Georgia.
The river should not be confused with the
Kur River near
Kursk, Russia, or another
Kur River near
Khabarovsk, also in Russia.
Kür in Azerbaijan
Main articles: Rivers and lakes in Azerbaijan
The Kür and Aras are the principal rivers of
Azerbaijan; they flow through the Küra-Arax lowland. The rivers that directly flow into the Caspian Sea originate mainly from the north-eastern slope of the major Caucasus and Talysh mountains and flow across the Samur-Devechi and Lenkeran lowlands.
The Kür (Mtkvari) River basin area (86,000 km²) up to the junction with the Aras River is smaller than the Aras (Arax) water basin (101,937 km²). The river is still called Kur from the junction because the water level of the Kur is twice as high as that of the Aras River.
See also
★
Rivers and lakes in Azerbaijan
References
1. http://www.phespirit.info/places/2006_09_skopje_1.htm
External link
★
Kura.
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-05.