The Karasu (
Turkish for 'black water') or Western Euphrates is a long river in eastern
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
, one of the two sources of the
Euphrates
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...
. It has a length of about 450 km. To the ancient Greeks the river was known as the (''Telebóas'').
Course
The river rises on the Dumlu Dağ in
Erzurum Province,
and drains the plains around the city of
Erzurum. It is joined by the
Serçeme River, then flows west through
Erzincan Province
Erzincan Province ( tr, ; ku, Parezgêha Erzînganê) is a province in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. In Turkey, its capital is also called Erzincan. The population was 236,034 in 2018.
Geography
Erzincan is traversed by the northeaste ...
, turning south, then west and receiving the tributary Tuzla Su. Between
Erzincan and
Kemah it is joined by the
Gönye River and passes through a rocky gorge.
[ Near the small town of ]Kemaliye
Kemaliye (formerly Eğin) ( hy, Ակն, Romanized Old Armenian: ''Akn'', meaning "spring") is both a town in and one of the nine districts of Erzincan Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey.
The town is known for its historic architect ...
it receives its last tributary, the Çaltı Çayı, before turning sharply southeast to flow through a deep canyon[ into the Keban Dam Lake on the Euphrates. Before construction of the Keban Dam the Karasu joined the Murat River 10 km above the dam site and 13 km above the town of Keban.]
History
It is thought likely that the river Harpasos mentioned by Xenophon in Anabasis 7.18 is the Kara Su, or the headwaters of the river Çoruh.
In 1996, 15 Turkish soldiers were killed when their personnel carrier fell into the river during a routine crossing.
References
{{Authority control
Rivers of Turkey
Euphrates
Landforms of Erzurum Province
Landforms of Erzincan Province
Landforms of Elazığ Province