Balikh

The Balikh River (Arabic: نهر البليخ) is a perennial river in the Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests ecoregion that flows from the spring of Ain al-Arous near Tell Abyad. It runs south and meets the Euphrates in Raqqa, the modern city. After the Khabur River, the Balikh is Syria's second greatest tributary to the Euphrates. It is a major supply of water, and considerable portions of it have lately been canalized.

The Balikh River's principal source is the karstic spring of Ain al-Arous, located just south of the Syria–Turkey border. The Balikh also draws water from a number of seasonal streams and wadis that drain the Harran Plain to the north as well as the plains to the west and east of the river basin. The Jullab, Wadi Qaramogh, and Wadi al-Kheder are the names of these streams.

The Balikh is linked by the Jullab canal a few kilometers south of Ain al-Arous. This little river flows from springs north of Anlurfa, but it runs dry at Harran before reaching the Balikh. However, several now-dry wells in Harran's old city imply that the water table may have been substantially higher in the past.

Length: 100 km