Euphrates

The Euphrates (ⁱ/juːˈfreɪtiːz/; Arabic: الفرات‎: al-Furāt, Hebrew: פרת‎‎: Prat, Turkis: Fırat, Kurdish: Firat‎) is the langest an ane o the maist historically important rivers o Wastren Asie. Thegither wi the Tigris, it is ane o the twa definin rivers o Mesopotamie. Oreeginatin in eastren Turkey, the Euphrates flows through Sirie an Iraq tae join the Tigris in the Shatt al-Arab, which empties intae the Persie Gulf.

Euphrates
The Euphrates near Halabiye (Syria); the archaeological steid Zalabiye can be seen in the backgrund on the left bank.
Map o the combined Tigris–Euphrates drainage basin (in yellae)
Basin
Main source	Murat Su, Turkey 3,520 m (11,550 ft)
2nt source	Kara Su, Turkey 3,290 m (10,790 ft)
River mooth	Shatt al-Arab Al-Qurnah, Basra Govrenorate, Iraq 31°0′18″N 47°26′31″E
Basin size	500,000 km2 (190,000 sq mi)approx.
Pheesical chairacteristics
Lenth	2,800 km (1,700 mi)approx.
Dischairge	Location: Hīt Minimum rate: 58 m3/s (2,000 cu ft/s) Average rate: 356 m3/s (12,600 cu ft/s) Maximum rate: 2,514 m3/s (88,800 cu ft/s)
Features
Tributars	Left: Balikh, Khabur Richt: Sajur

Etymology

The earliest references tae the Euphrates come frae cuneiform texts foond in Shuruppak an pre-Sargonic Nippur in soothren Iraq an date tae the mid-third millennium BCE. In these texts, written in Sumerie, the Euphrates appears as Buranuna (logographic: UD.KIB.NUN). The name coud an aw be written KIB.NUN.(NA) or ^dKIB.NUN, wi the prefix "^d" indicatin that the river wis deified. In Sumerie, the name o the ceety o Sippar in modren-day Iraq wis an aw a written UD.KIB.NUN, indicatin a historically strang relationship atween the ceety an the river. In Akkadian, the Euphrates wis cried Purattu. The modren spellin o the Euphrates derives frae the Auld Persie Ufrātu via Middle Persie Frat intae Turkis Fırat. The Persie Ufrātu (meanin the guid) is an aw the source o the Greek spellin Εὐφράτης (Euphrates).

See an aw

• Leet o ceeties an touns on the Euphrates River

Freemit airtins

• Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine Peace Palace Library