Atrek River

The Atrek (Persian: اترک‎‎, Turkmen: Etrek derýasy), also known as the Attruck, Atrak, and Etrek, is a fast-moving river which begins in the mountains of northeastern Iran (), and flows 563 kilometres (350 mi) westward draining into the southeastern corner of the Caspian Sea in Turkmenistan. Because of the high use of its waters for irrigation, it only flows into the Caspian when it is in flood stage.

Geography

The Atrek is 669 kilometres (416 mi) long and drains a basin of 27,300 square kilometres (10,500 sq mi).

Politics

Beginning at , where its tributary the Sumbar join it, the river forms the border of Iran with Turkmenistan; this helped keep the area closed throughout the Cold War years. A 1926 treaty between Iran and Turkmenistan stipulates that Turkmenistan receives about 50 percent of the total Atrek average runoff.

Ecology

Even though sturgeons concentrate in the area of the Caspian Sea next to the Turkmen coast, they do not currently migrate into the Atrek River owing to its low water level and pollution. Since the Atrek is the only Caspian watershed river of the Turkmen coast, sturgeons no longer reproduce in Turkmenistan.

References

This article includes content derived from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969–1978, which is partially in the public domain.