Barka River

Barka River (Arabic: nahr Baraka) is one of the longest rivers in Eritrea. It is a tributary of the Nile that runs from Eritrea's Highlands to Sudan's lowlands. It springs approximately outside Asmara and runs northwest via Agordat, covering a distance of nearly 640 kilometers. Near the Sudanese border, the river combines with the Anseba River. The Barka River in Sudan flows seasonally to a Red Sea delta near the town of Tokar.

Four large rivers and countless streams flow across Eritrea's highlands. The Gash and the Tekez are two of the rivers that flow westward into Sudan. The Tekez River is a significant tributary of the Atbara River, which meets the Nile at its mouth. Only during flood season does the Gash River reach the Atbara. The Tekez forms part of Eritrea's boundary with Ethiopia as it passes the western lowlands, while the upper stream of the Gash, known as the Mereb River, marks the plateau's border. The Baraka and the Anseba are the other two significant rivers that drain Eritrea's highlands. Both rivers travel northward towards a marshy region on Sudan's eastern coast, but they never reach the Red Sea. Several seasonal streams run eastward from the plateau to the Eritrean coast, where they meet the sea.

Length: 640 km