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The Terek (; , Tiyrk; , Tərč; , ; , ; , ''Terk''; , ; , ) is a major river in the
Northern Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...
. It originates in the
Mtskheta-Mtianeti Mtskheta-Mtianeti ( ka, მცხეთა-მთიანეთი, literally "Mtskheta-Mountain Area") is a region (Mkhare) in eastern Georgia comprising the town of Mtskheta, which serves as a regional capital, together with its district and th ...
region of
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
and flows through
North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...
region of
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
into the
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...
. It rises near the juncture of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and the Khokh Range, to the southwest of
Mount Kazbek Mount Kazbek or Mount Kazbegi is a dormant stratovolcano and one of the major mountains of the Caucasus, located on the Russian-Georgian border - in Russia's North Ossetia region and Georgia's Kazbegi District. At 5,034 m (16,515 ft) high, i ...
, winding north in a white torrent between the town of Stepantsminda and the village of Gergeti toward the Russian region North Ossetia and the city of
Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz (russian: Владикавка́з, , os, Дзæуджыхъæу, translit=Dzæwdžyqæw, ;), formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () and Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia. It is located i ...
. It turns east to flow through Chechnya and Dagestan before dividing into two branches which empty into the Caspian Sea. Below the city of
Kizlyar Kizlyar (russian: Кизля́р; av, Гъизляр; kum, Къызлар, ''Qızlar'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located on the border with the Chechen Republic in the river delta ...
it forms a swampy
river delta A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, or (more ra ...
around wide. The river is a key natural asset in the region, providing
irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...
and
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 ...
in its upper reaches. The main cities on the Terek include
Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz (russian: Владикавка́з, , os, Дзæуджыхъæу, translit=Dzæwdžyqæw, ;), formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () and Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia. It is located i ...
,
Mozdok Mozdok (russian: Моздо́к; os, Мæздæг, ''Mæzdæg''; Kabardian: Мэздэгу) is a town and the administrative center of Mozdoksky District of North Ossetia – Alania, Russia, located on the left shore of the Terek River, n ...
, and
Kizlyar Kizlyar (russian: Кизля́р; av, Гъизляр; kum, Къызлар, ''Qızlar'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located on the border with the Chechen Republic in the river delta ...
. Several minor
hydroelectric power stations 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 ...
dam the Terek: Dzau electrostation (in Vladikavkaz), Bekanskaya, and Pavlodolskaya. The construction of the
Dariali Hydropower Plant Dariali Hydropower Plant, referred to as Dariali HPP, is a 108 MW run-of-the-river hydropower plant built in 2017 in Georgia. It is located on the Tergi River in Kazbegi Municipality, at less than 1 km from the Russian- Georgian border, 160& ...
with a planned installed capacity of 108 MW started in 2011 on the territory of Kazbegi
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
near the Russia–Georgia border.Dariali Hydro Power Plant Construction and Operation Project (Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Reportt).
''Darial Energy LLC''. Issued in 2011. Retrieved on 2014-16-07.
Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
's novel ''The Cossacks'' is set on the Terek and amongst its Cossacks.


Tributaries

The Terek drains most of the northeast Caucasus east into the Caspian just as its sister, the Kuban, drains the northwest Caucasus west into the Black Sea. Its major tributaries are the following. In the west a fan of rivers flows east and northeast into the Terek. These are the east-flowing Malka, the Baksan, the Chegem and the Cherek with its two branches. These three join the Malka just before it reaches the Terek. The Liashen, Urukh, Duradur and Duradon flow northeast, the Ardon and its tributary, the
Fiagdon Fiagdon (russian: Фиагдон, os, Фыййагдон, ''Fyjjagdon'') is a river in North Ossetia–Alania (Russia) west of Vladikavkaz. It flows north between the Ardon and the Gizeldon and joins the Ardon before that river joins the Terek. ...
flow north and the Gizeldon drains the north slope of
Mount Kazbek Mount Kazbek or Mount Kazbegi is a dormant stratovolcano and one of the major mountains of the Caucasus, located on the Russian-Georgian border - in Russia's North Ossetia region and Georgia's Kazbegi District. At 5,034 m (16,515 ft) high, i ...
and reaches the Terek near the mouth of the Ardon. Then there is the north-flowing part of the Terek with the
Darial Pass The Darial Gorge ( ka, დარიალის ხეობა, ''Darialis Kheoba''; russian: Дарьяльское ущелье; os, Арвыком, ''Arvykom''; inh, Даьра Аьле, ''Dära Äle''; Chechen: Теркан чӀаж, ''Te ...
. The great northwest bend of the Terek is cut off by the northeast-flowing Sunzha which catches most of the north-flowing rivers. These are the north-flowing upper Sunzha, the Assa, the Argun and Khukhulau. East of these are the Aksay and the Aktash which formerly dried up in the lowlands between the Sulak and the Terek. In the east the
Sulak Sulak may refer to: ;Places * Sulak, Khuzestan, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran *Sulak, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, a village in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, Iran *Sulak, Russia, several inhabited localities in Russia * Sulak, Silvan ...
drains most of interior Dagestan and turns east to the Caspian before it reaches the Terek.


Human history

The capital of
Khazaria The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...
, Samandar, may have stood on the banks of the river Terek. The Terek river was the site of the final defeat of the army of
Hulagu Hulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulegu ( mn, Хүлэгү/ , lit=Surplus, translit=Hu’legu’/Qülegü; chg, ; Arabic: fa, هولاکو خان, ''Holâku Khân;'' ; 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of West ...
, khan of the
Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm ...
, at the hands of the army of Berke, khan of the
Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragme ...
, led by Berke's nephew, Nogai Khan, in the first civil war of the Mongol Empire, the
Berke–Hulagu war The Berke–Hulagu war was fought between two Mongol leaders, Berke Khan of the Golden Horde and Hulagu Khan of the Ilkhanate. It was fought mostly in the Caucasus mountains area in the 1260s after the destruction of Baghdad in 1258. The war o ...
of 1262. Also on the river Timur defeated Tokhtamysh in 1395. The Terek Cossack Host (1577–1832 and 1860– ) had its base in the Terek basin. During the
Russian conquest of the Caucasus The Russian conquest of the Caucasus mainly occurred between 1800 and 1864. The Russian Empire sought to control the region between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea. South of the mountains was the territory that is modern Armenia, Azerbaijan, Geor ...
it was part of the
North Caucasus Line The Kuban drains the northwest Caucasus rivers into the Sea of Azov. The Laba is the fourth river from the left. The North Caucasus Line was a line of Russian forts and Cossack settlements along the north side of the Caucasus Mountains. Originat ...
. During World War II, German forces at the end of August 1942 reached the Terek near
Mozdok Mozdok (russian: Моздо́к; os, Мæздæг, ''Mæzdæg''; Kabardian: Мэздэгу) is a town and the administrative center of Mozdoksky District of North Ossetia – Alania, Russia, located on the left shore of the Terek River, n ...
– the farthest extent of German conquests in the Soviet Union – but aside from a small bridgehead were unable to forge further toward the oil fields of Baku, Hitler's objective. The Germans penetrated the left bank of the Terek reaching Vladikavkaz suburbs and West Gizel, near the now built weather station.


See also

* Terek Cossacks


References

{{Authority control Rivers of North Ossetia–Alania Rivers of Georgia (country) Rivers of Kabardino-Balkaria Ossetia Rivers of Stavropol Krai Rivers of Dagestan International rivers of Europe International rivers of Asia Tributaries of the Caspian Sea Rivers of Chechnya