Murghab River (Tajikistan)
- Murghab River (Tajikistan)
:"For the other river of the same name, see Murgab River (Afghanistan)."
The Murghab River (TaPA:Мурғоб/مرغاب, meaning "Birds River"), also spelled as "Murghob", "Murgob", or "Murgab" (from _ru. Мургаб), and known in its upper reaches as the Aksu or Oksu, rises in extreme northeastern Afghanistan before flowing north and west into Tajikistan, which contains the bulk of its length. The river flows north and west through Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan region, passing first the village of Shaimak and then the city of Murghab, before flowing into Sarez Lake and merging further west with Kudara River to form the Bartang.
On February 18, 1911, a great earthquake (estimated between 8 and 9 on the Richter scale) caused a large landslide which completely blocked the flow of the Murghab and buried a local village. The landslide, estimated at two cubic kilometers of rock, formed a natural dam called the Usoi Dam. Over the following months the Murghab filled the space behind the Usoi to form Sarez Lake, which now fills about 60 kilometers in length of the Murghab river valley and contains 17 cubic kilometers of water. Geologists believe that the dam may be unstable and could collapse during a future strong earthquake. [Bolt, B.A., W.L. Horn, G.A. Macdonald and R.F. Scott, (1975) " Geological hazards: earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, avalanches, landslides, floods" Springer-Verlag, New York, ISBN 0-387-06948-8] Shortly beyond the Usoi, the Murghab joins Kudara River to form the Bartang, the waters eventually flowing into the Panj River and then the Amu Darya, one of the great rivers of Central Asia.
Notes
External links
* [http://enrin.grida.no/htmls/tadjik/vitalgraphics/eng/html/u11.htm Map of major river drainage basins within Tajikistan]
* [http://enrin.grida.no/htmls/tadjik/vitalgraphics/eng/html/uyazv.htm Index of maps and graphs related to Tajikistan water resources]
* [http://www.pamirs.org/images/maps/gbaorm.gifMap of Gorno-Badakhshan region of Tajikistan]
References
* [http://www.greatgametravel.co.uk/walkingtreks/sarez.html "Sarez and Yashikul Lakes"] . The Great Game Travel Company. Retrieved August 25, 2005.
*Google Maps satellite photographs of eastern Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
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