The Zeravshan or Zarafshan river, whilst smaller and less well-known than the two great rivers of Central Asia, the Oxus or Amu-Darya and the Jaxartes or Syr-Darya, is if anything more valuable as a source of irrigation in the region. Its name signifies 'Spreader of Gold' in Persian, and refers to the presence of gold-bearing sands in the upper reaches of the river. Its course runs through present-day Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, from a source on the fringes of the Pamirs, past Penjikent to the legendary cities of Samarkand and Bukhara, which are entirely dependent on the oases thus created. Originally a tributary of the Oxus, it now loses itself in the desert beyond Bukhara without reaching the greater river. Zarafshan is a valley in northern Tajikistan. ... The Amu Darya (in Persian آمودریا; Darya means river in Persian) rises in the Pamirs and flows mainly north-west through the Hindu Kush, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to join the Aral Sea in a large river delta. ... The Amu Darya (Darya means river) rises in the Pamirs and flows mainly north-west through the Hindu Kush, Uzbekistan to join the Aral Sea in a large delta. ... Syr Darya (also known as Syrdarya or Sirdaryo) is a river in Central Asia. ... Syr Darya (Persian سیردریا, also transliterated Syrdarya or Sirdaryo) is a river in Central Asia, sometimes known as the Jaxartes from its Ancient Greek name ὁ Ιαξάρτης. ... Samarkand (Samarqand or Самарқанд in Uzbek, in Persian سمرقند) (population 400,000) is the second-largest city in Uzbekistan, capital of the Samarkand region (Samarqand Wiloyati). ... Bukhara (بُخارا in Persian, Buxoro or Бухоро in Uzbek (the Cyrillic alphabet was officially phased out for Uzbek after independence); Бухара in Russian; also Boxara in Tatar) is one of the major cities of Uzbekistan, and capital of the Bukhara region (Bukhoro Wiloyati). ... The Amu Darya (in Persian آمودریا; Darya means river in Persian) rises in the Pamirs and flows mainly north-west through the Hindu Kush, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to join the Aral Sea in a large river delta. ... Bukhara (بُخارا in Persian, Buxoro or Бухоро in Uzbek (the Cyrillic alphabet was officially phased out for Uzbek after independence); Бухара in Russian; also Boxara in Tatar) is one of the major cities of Uzbekistan, and capital of the Bukhara region (Bukhoro Wiloyati). ...
Further Reading
В.В. Бартольд "К Истории Орошения в Туркестане" (Collected Works, Vol.3) (Москва) 1965
V.V. Barthold "Turkestan Down to the Mongol Invasion" (London) 1968
Robert Lewis "Early Irrigation in West Turkestan" Annals of the Association of American Geographers Vol.56 №.3 (Sept. 1966) pp467-491
It flows westward through the agricultural Zeravshan valley, then into Uzbekistan, past Samarkand and Bukhara, and disappears in the desert near the Amu Darya, N of Chärjew.
The Zeravshan Mountains, forming the southern watershed of the river, rise to c.18,480 ft (5,630 m).
Zeravshan is operated by Nelson, producing gold from the Jilau open-pit...
Zeravshan [zyer u fshAn´] Pronunciation Key, river, c.460 mi (740 km) long, rising in the Turkistan Range of the Pamir-Alai mountain system, in Tajikistan.
It flows westward through the agricultural Zeravshan valley, then into Uzbekistan, past Samarkand and Bukhara, and disappears in the desert near the Amu Darya, N of ChArjew.
The Zeravshan Mountains, forming the southern watershed of the river, rise to c.18,480 ft (5,630 m).
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