The Karun ( fa, کارون, ) is the
Iranian river with the highest water flow, and its only navigable
river. It is long. It rises in the
Zard Kuh mountains of the
Bakhtiari district in the
Zagros Range, receiving many tributaries, such as the
Dez and the
Kuhrang
Koohrang (also known as Kouhrang and Kurang) is the name of a river, originating in the Zagros mountains of western Iran, which joins the Beheštābād river () to form the Karun, Iran's largest (by volume) river. A series of tunnels (Kuhrang Tun ...
, before passing through the capital of the
Khuzestan Province
Khuzestan Province (also spelled Xuzestan; fa, استان خوزستان ''Ostān-e Xūzestān'') is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the southwest of the country, bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Its capital is Ahvaz and it covers ...
of Iran, the city of
Ahvaz
Ahvaz ( fa, اهواز, Ahvâz ) is a city in the southwest of Iran and the capital of Khuzestan province. Ahvaz's population is about 1,300,000 and its built-up area with the nearby town of Sheybani is home to 1,136,989 inhabitants. It is hom ...
before emptying to its mouth into
Arvand Rud (Shatt al-Arab).
The Karun continues toward the
Persian Gulf, forking into two primary branches on its
delta – the
Bahmanshir and the
Haffar – that join the
Arvand Rud
The Shatt al-Arab ( ar, شط العرب, lit=River of the Arabs; fa, اروندرود, Arvand Rud, lit=Swift River) is a river of some in length that is formed at the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the town of al-Qurnah in ...
, emptying into the Persian Gulf. The important Island of
Abadan is located between these two branches of the Karun. The port city of
Khorramshahr
Khorramshahr ( fa, خرمشهر , also Romanization, romanized as ''Khurramshahr'', ar, المحمرة, romanized as ''Al-Muhammerah'') is a city and capital of Khorramshahr County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2016 census, its population wa ...
is divided from the Island of Abadan by the Haffar branch.
Juris Zarins and other scholars have identified the Karun as one of the four rivers of
Eden, the others being the
Tigris, the
Euphrates, and either the
Wadi Al-Batin or the
Karkheh
The Karkheh or Karkhen کرخه (perhaps the river known as the Gihon—one of the four rivers of Eden/Paradise to the Bible and as the Choaspes in ancient times; also called Eulæus; Hebrew: אולי Ulai) is a river in Khūzestān Province, ...
.
Name
In early classical times, the Karun was known as the Pasitigris. The modern medieval and modern name, Karun, is a corruption of the name
Kuhrang
Koohrang (also known as Kouhrang and Kurang) is the name of a river, originating in the Zagros mountains of western Iran, which joins the Beheštābād river () to form the Karun, Iran's largest (by volume) river. A series of tunnels (Kuhrang Tun ...
, which is still maintained by one of the two primary tributaries of the Karun.
J. G. Lorimer also records in his
Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia that it was known by the name "Dujail," which could be translated "Little Tigris," to
medieval Arab and Persian
geographers.
Course
It originates in the
Zagros Mountains
The Zagros Mountains ( ar, جبال زاغروس, translit=Jibal Zaghrus; fa, کوههای زاگرس, Kuh hā-ye Zāgros; ku, چیاکانی زاگرۆس, translit=Çiyakani Zagros; Turkish: ''Zagros Dağları''; Luri: ''Kuh hā-ye Zāgr ...
of western Iran, on the slopes of
Zard-Kuh
Zard-Kuh (meaning "Yellow Mountain", also spelled Zardkuh, Zarduh Kuh or Zard Kuh-e Bakhtiari; Persian: زردکوه بختیاری) is a sub-range in the central Zagros Range, Iran.
With an elevation of 4221 metres, the Zard-Kuh is located ...
. The river flows south and west through several prominent mountain ridges and receives additional water from the
Vanak
Vanak () is a neighbourhood in the northern part of Tehran, capital of Iran and there is a square and a street named after it. The word Vanak means "Small (ash) Tree" in Persian.
The name derives from the original older village of Vanak (''Deh-e ...
on the south bank and the
Bazoft on the north. These tributaries add to the catchment of the river above the
Karun-4 Dam. downstream, the Karun widens into the reservoir formed by the
Karun-3 Dam.
The
Khersan flows into an arm of the reservoir from the southeast. The river passes through this reservoir and flows through a narrow canyon, now in a northwest direction, past
Izeh
Izeh ( fa, ايذه, also Romanized as Īz̄eh; also known as Malāmir, Izaj, and Malemir) is a city and capital of Izeh County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 103,695, in 20,127 families.
Izeh also has mines o ...
, eventually winding into the Sussan Plain. The Karun then turns north into the reservoir of
Shahid Abbaspour Dam (Karun-1), which floods the river's defile to the southwest. The Karun flows southwest into the impoundment of
Masjed Soleyman Dam (Karun-2), then turns northwest. Finally, it leaves the foothills and flows south past
Shushtar and its confluence with the
Dez. It then bends southwest, bisecting the city of
Ahvaz
Ahvaz ( fa, اهواز, Ahvâz ) is a city in the southwest of Iran and the capital of Khuzestan province. Ahvaz's population is about 1,300,000 and its built-up area with the nearby town of Sheybani is home to 1,136,989 inhabitants. It is hom ...
, and south through farmland to its mouth on the Arvand Roud at
Khorramshahr
Khorramshahr ( fa, خرمشهر , also Romanization, romanized as ''Khurramshahr'', ar, المحمرة, romanized as ''Al-Muhammerah'') is a city and capital of Khorramshahr County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2016 census, its population wa ...
, where its water, together with that of the
Tigris and
Euphrates, turns sharply southeast to flow to the
Persian Gulf.
Basin
The largest river by discharge in Iran, the Karun River's
watershed covers in parts of two Iranian provinces. The river is around long and has an average discharge of . The largest city on the river is
Ahvaz
Ahvaz ( fa, اهواز, Ahvâz ) is a city in the southwest of Iran and the capital of Khuzestan province. Ahvaz's population is about 1,300,000 and its built-up area with the nearby town of Sheybani is home to 1,136,989 inhabitants. It is hom ...
, with over 1.3 million inhabitants. Other important cities include Shushtar, Khorramshahr (a port),
Masjed-Soleyman
Masjed Soleyman ( fa, مسجدسلیمان, also Romanized as Masjedsoleimān, Masjed-e Soleymān, Masjed Soleiman, and Masjid-i-Sulaiman) is a city and capital of Masjed Soleyman County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its populat ...
, and Izeh.
Much of Khuzestan's transport and resources are connected in one way or another to the Karun. Since the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
first discovered oil at
Masjed Soleyman
Masjed Soleyman ( fa, مسجدسلیمان, also Romanized as Masjedsoleimān, Masjed-e Soleymān, Masjed Soleiman, and Masjid-i-Sulaiman) is a city and capital of Masjed Soleyman County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its populat ...
, the Karun has been an important route for the transport of petroleum to the
Persian Gulf, and remains an important commercial waterway.
Water from the Karun provides
irrigation to over of the surrounding plain and a further are planned to receive water.
History
Karun River lies between the
Susa plain, the location of the ancient cultures dating back to the fifth millennium BC and, to the south, the newly discovered ancient culture of the
Zohreh River plain from the same period. The principal ancient site being excavated near the Zohreh River is
Tol-e Chega Sofla, which has many parallels with Susa. Sites along the Karun also participated in these historical developments.
Later, the Karun valley was also inhabited by the
Elamite civilization which rose about 2,700 BC. At several points in history,
Mesopotamian civilizations such as
Ur and
Babylon overthrew the Elamites and gained control of the Karun and its surroundings in modern Khuzestan. However, the Elamite empire lasted until about 640 BC, when the
Assyrians overran it. The city of
Susa, near the modern city of
Shush between the Dez and
Karkheh
The Karkheh or Karkhen کرخه (perhaps the river known as the Gihon—one of the four rivers of Eden/Paradise to the Bible and as the Choaspes in ancient times; also called Eulæus; Hebrew: אולי Ulai) is a river in Khūzestān Province, ...
rivers, was one of their largest before it was destroyed by the invaders.
The first known major bridge across the river was built by the
Roman captives that included its emperor
Valerianus in the Sassanid era, whence the name of the bridge and dam
Band-e Kaisar, "
Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
's dam", at Shushtar (3rd century AD).
In two of several competing theories about the origins and location of the
Garden of Eden, the Karun is presumed to be the
Gihon River that is described in the
Biblical book of ''Genesis''. The strongest of these theories, propounded by archaeologist
Juris Zarins, places the Garden of Eden at the northern tip of the Persian Gulf, fed by the four rivers Tigris, the Euphrates, Gihon (Karun) and
Pishon (
Wadi Al-Batin).
In 1888, during a period of increasing British influence in
southern Iran
Southern Iran consists of the southern mountain ranges of Zagros and Central Iranian Range, Khuzestan Plain and the northern coasts of Persian Gulf and Straight of Hormuz.
It includes the provinces of Fars, Kohgiluyeh and Buyer Ahmad, Hormo ...
, Lynch Brothers opened the first regular steamship service on the river linking
Khorramshahr
Khorramshahr ( fa, خرمشهر , also Romanization, romanized as ''Khurramshahr'', ar, المحمرة, romanized as ''Al-Muhammerah'') is a city and capital of Khorramshahr County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2016 census, its population wa ...
and
Ahvaz
Ahvaz ( fa, اهواز, Ahvâz ) is a city in the southwest of Iran and the capital of Khuzestan province. Ahvaz's population is about 1,300,000 and its built-up area with the nearby town of Sheybani is home to 1,136,989 inhabitants. It is hom ...
.
The name of the river is derived from the mountain peak, Kuhrang, which serves as its source.
The famous silent film documentary, ''
Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life'' (1925), tells the story of the Bakhtiari tribe crossing this river with 50,000 people and 500,000 animals.
It was here during the
Iran–Iraq War
The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations S ...
that the
Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces stopped the early
Iraqi Armed Forces advance. With its limited military stocks, Iran unveiled its "
human wave
The human wave attack, also known as the human sea attack, is an offensive infantry tactic in which an attacker conducts an unprotected frontal assault with densely concentrated infantry formations against the enemy line, intended to overrun and ...
" assaults which used thousands of
Basij (Popular Mobilization Army or People's Army) volunteers.
In September 2009, three districts of
Basra province in southern Iraq were declared disaster areas as a result of Iran's construction of new dams on the Karun. The new dams resulted in high levels of salinity in the Arvand Roud, which destroyed farm areas and threatened livestock. Civilians in the area were forced to evacuate.
Dams
There are a number of dams on the Karun River, mainly built to generate
hydroelectric power
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...
and provide
flood control.
Gotvand Dam,
Masjed Soleyman Dam, Karun-1 (
Shahid Abbaspour Dam),
Karun-3, and
Karun-4, most of them owned by the Iran Water and Power Resources Development Co., are all on the main stem. Karun-2 would potentially be located in the Sussan Plain between Shahid Abbaspour and Karun-3, but the project is still under consideration because of fear of submerging archaeological sites.
A Karun-5 dam upstream of Karun-4 has also been proposed.
The Masjed Soleyman, Shahid Abbaspour, and Karun-3 dams each generate 1,000–2,000 MW of power to service the
peaking power sector of Iran's electricity grid, and when completed, Karun-4 will also generate 1,000 MW.
There are also many dams on the river's tributaries.
Dez Dam,
Bakhtiari Dam (under construction) and
Khersan-3 Dam (under construction) are among them. Khersan 1, Khersan 2, Zalaki, Liro, Roudbar Lorestan, Bazoft, and others are proposed.
The dams on the Karun have had a significant effect on the
sediment
Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sa ...
transport and the ecology of the river, and have required the relocation of thousands of residents.
Notes
References
* ''Karun-3, Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant''
History
* N. Jafarzadeh, S. Rostami, K. Sepehrfar, and A. Lahijanzadeh, ''Identification of the Water Pollutant Industries in Khuzastan Province'', Iranian Journal of Environmental Health Science & Engineering, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 36–42 (2004)
External links
* More photos of Karun river
Tishineh* ''Karun river marshes'', Factsheet
* H. Borjian, "Karun River", ''Encyclopaedia Iranica'', at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/karun_1_2
* D. T. Potts, "SHATT al-ARAB", ''Encyclopaedia Iranica'', at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/shatt-al-arab
{{Rivers of Iran
Rivers of Khuzestan Province
Rivers of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province
Landforms of Khuzestan Province
Landforms of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province
Shatt al-Arab basin
Rivers in Mandaeism