Syr Darya

The Syr Darya is a Central Asian river. The name is a Persian derivation that literally means "Syr Sea" or "Syr River," and it is sometimes referred to as such. It rises in the Tian Shan Mountains of Kyrgyzstan and eastern Uzbekistan and runs west and north through Uzbekistan and southern Kazakhstan to the northern remnants of the Aral Sea, covering 2,256.25 kilometers (1,401.97 miles). It is the northern and eastern of the two major rivers that flow through the Aral Sea's endorheic basin, the other being the Amu Darya (Jayhun).

During the Soviet era, huge irrigation projects were built around both rivers, diverting their water into farmland and causing the Aral Sea, once the world's fourth-largest lake, to virtually vanish during the post-Soviet era. The lowest point in Tajikistan is 300 meters (980 feet) above sea level, where the river flows from Tajikistan into Uzbekistan.

The Naryn River and the Kara Darya, which meet in the Uzbek side of the Fergana Valley, start in the Tian Shan Mountains in Kyrgyzstan and eastern Uzbekistan, and flow for 2,212 kilometers (1,374 miles) west and north-west through Uzbekistan and southern Kazakhstan to the remains of the Aral Sea. The Syr Darya drains an area of nearly 800,000 square kilometers (310,000 square miles), although only around 200,000 square kilometers (77,000 square miles) contribute considerable flow to the river; in fact, two of the basin's main rivers, the Talas and the Chu, dry up before they reach it. Its yearly flow is half that of its sister river, the Amu Darya, at 37 cubic kilometers (30,000,000 acreft) per year.

The earliest known name was Jaxartes or Iaxartes in Ancient Greek, which consists of two morphemes, Iaxa and artes, and was mentioned in various sources, including those related to Alexander the Great. The Greek name Yakhsha Arta ("True Pearl") is derived from the Old Persian name Yakhsha Arta ("True Pearl"), which may relate to the color of the glacially-fed water. The river's Turkic name up until the Arab invasion, the Yinçü, or "Pearl river," from Middle Chinese, Tang Chinese also recorded this name as Yaosha River and afterwards Ye River, provides more evidence for the Persian derivation.

Length: 2,256.25 km (1,401.97 mi)