Morghab River (Afghanistan)

For the Morghab River which rises in the Wakhan in northeast Afghanistan, see Murghab River (Tajikistan).

The Hindu Kush hydro power plant (Гиндукушская ГЭС) on the Murgab river soon after its completion in 1909. At the time, it was the largest hydro power generating station of the Russian Empire

The Morghāb River (Persian/Pashto: مرغاب), also transliterated as Murgab from Russian Мургаб, is an 850 km long river in Central Asia. It rises in north-western Afghanistan and runs north-west towards the Murghab District, which takes it name from the river, and then the Kara Kum desert in Turkmenistan, where it peters out.

Geography

The Murghab originates in the center of Afghanistan, on a plateau situated among the chain of mountains of Safed Koh or Paropamisus to the south and that of Band-i Turkestan in the north. In its higher course, oriented from east to west, and to the locality of Mukhamedkhan (i.e. over a length of 300 km.), the valley of Murghab is narrow, measuring less than one kilometer in width, with steep slopes. There are narrow gorges in some places. Between Darband-i Kilrekht and Mukhammedkhan, the Murghab crosses the western part of Band-i Turkestan. It then runs toward the northwest in a deep canyon. In Mukhammedkhan, it crosses the gorges of Jaokar. After this locality, the valley widens somewhat gradually, reaching a width of 2 kilometers in Turkmenistan. Beyond Mukhamedkhan, a small portion of the water of the Murghab is used for irrigation; approximately 10000 hectares are irrigated from the Murghab in Afghanistan. The Murghab receives the waters of the Kaysar river on the right, then forms the border between Turkmenistan and Afghanistan over a 16 kilometer length. In the territory of Turkmenistan, close to Takhta-Bazaar, the Murghab receives the Kachan river from the left bank, and 25 kilometers further, there is the confluence of the Kushk. Reaching the oasis of Merv, the Murghab mingles its waters with those of the Kara-Kum canal (diversion of water from the Amou-Daria).

Catchment area

The catchment area of the Murghab is estimated at 46880 square kilometers.

Hydrometry - the flows at Takhta-Bazaar

The flow of Murghab was observed during 50 years (1936-1985) at Takhta-Bazaar, a location in Turkmenistan about thirty kilometers after the Murghab leaves the Afghan territory, and a score of kilometers upstream of the confluence with the Kushk. At Takhta-Bazaar, average annual flow observed over this period was 48.7 m³ /second for an observed surface area of 34,700 km², which is 74% of the totality of the catchment area of the river. The geographically-averaged hydrometric flow passing through this part of the basin, by far greatest from the point of view of the flow, thus reached the figure of 44.3 millimeters per annum, which is very appreciable in this particularly desiccated area.

Monthly mean flows of Murghab (in m ³ /seconds) measured at the hydrometric station of Takhta-Bazaar
Data calculated over 50 years

External links

• Delft Hydraulics - Integrated Water Resources Management for the Sistan Closed Inland Delta - ANNEX B : Forecasting the Flow from Afghanistan - Page 18 : cartes hydrographiques d'AfghanistanPDF (1.50 MB) (English)
• Map of the province of Ghor, with trace of the flow of water
• Map of vegetation cover in the province of Badghis, with trace of the flow of water
• "Morghab River", in Britannica