Murghab

The Murghab River is a Central Asian river that runs for 850 kilometers (530 miles). It rises in the Paropamisus Mountains in central-western Afghanistan, particularly in the Murghab district. The river gets its name from the Marghab District in Ghor province and flows northwest towards the Bala Murghab. When the Murghab reaches the oasis of Mary in Turkmenistan's Karakum Desert, it debouches into the Karakum Canal, a diversion of water from the Amu Darya.

The Murghab River rises in central-western Afghanistan in the Murghab District of Ghor province, on a plateau surrounded by the Paropamisus, Gharjistan, and Band-i Turkestan mountain ranges. The river flows from east to west, towards Mukhamedkhan, for around 300 kilometers (190 miles) in a small, steep valley less than one kilometer wide, with tight gorges in certain places.

The flow of the Murghab was monitored for 50 years (1936–85) in Tagtabazar, Turkmenistan, some 30 kilometers (19 mi) after the Murghab exits Afghan territory and a score of kilometers upstream of the Kushk. At Tagtabazar, the average annual flow recorded throughout this time was 48.7 cubic meters per second over an observed surface area of 34,700 square kilometers (13,400 sq mi), accounting for 74% of the entire catchment area of the river. The regionally averaged hydrometric flow traveling through this section of the basin, which is by far the most important in terms of flow, therefore reached a number of 44.3 millimeters per year, which is highly significant in this very dry area.

Total Length: 528 miles