Amu Darya (original) (raw)

Amu Darya (Darya means "river"), rising in the Pamirs, flowing mainly north-west through the Hindu Kush, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to join the Aral Sea through a large delta. It forms part of the Northern border of Afghanistan and is important for irrigation. It is navigable for over 1450 km (800 miles). Length: 2400 km (1500 miles).

Use of water from the Amu Darya for irrigation has been a major contributing factor in the shrinking of the Aral Sea since the late 1950s.

In antiquity the river was known as the Oxus, and historical records tell that during the history the Oxus has flowed to all of the Aral Sea, to the Caspian Sea, or both, similarly to the Jaxartes river.

see also Syr Darya, Transoxania