The Chorokh ( ka, ჭოროხი ''Ch'orokhi'', tr, Çoruh, hy, Չորոխ ''Ch’vorokh'', el, Άκαμψις, ''Akampsis'') is a river that rises in the Mescit Mountains in north-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 in ...

, flows through the cities of Bayburt,

İspir İspir ( hy, Սպեր, Sper; ka, სპერი, Speri) is a town and district of Erzurum Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, on the Çoruh River. They also appear as the Sasperi, the name Sper with a Georgian prefix of place Sa- ...

, Yusufeli, and

Artvin Artvin ( Laz and ; hy, Արտուին, translit=Artuin) is a city in northeastern Turkey about inland from the Black Sea. It is located on a hill overlooking the Çoruh River near the Deriner Dam. It is a former bishopric and (vacant) Armen ...

, along the Kelkit-Çoruh Fault, before flowing into Georgia, where it reaches the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Ro ...

just south of

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's ...

and a few kilometers north of the Turkish-Georgian border. In

Arrian Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; la, Lucius Flavius Arrianus; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander and philosopher of the Roman period. '' The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best ...

's ''

Periplus Ponti Euxini The ''Periplus of the Euxine Sea'' ( grc, Περίπλους τοῦ Εὐξείνου Πόντου, ', modern Greek transliteration ', la, Periplus Ponti Euxini) is a periplus or guidebook detailing the destinations visitors encounter when tr ...

'', it is called the ''Acampsis'' ( el, Άκαμψις); Pliny may have confused it with the ''Bathys''.

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gener ...

writes that it was called Acampsis because it was impossible to force a way through it after it has entered the sea, since it discharges its stream with such force and swiftness, causing a great disturbance of the water before it, that it goes out for a very great distance into the sea and makes it impossible to coast along at that point. In English, it was formerly known as the Boas, the Churuk, or the Chorokh.

Biodiversity

The Ch'orokhi valley lies within the Caucasus ecological zone, which is considered by the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

and by

Conservation International Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia. CI's work focuses on science, policy and partnership with businesses, governments and communities. The organ ...

as a biodiversity hotspot. The Çoruh Valley is recognised by Turkish conservation organisations as an important plant area,Ozhatay N, Byfield A & Atay S 2005, 122 Important Plant Areas of Turkey, for WWF Turkey, Istanbul, Turkey. an important bird area, a key biodiversity area and has been nominated as a high priority area for protection. This valley is rich in plants and contains 104 nationally threatened plant species of which 67 are endemic to Turkey.

Recreation

The Çoruh has been called "an eco-tourism gem" and "Turkey's last remaining wild river", and is being promoted for

whitewater kayaking Whitewater kayaking is an adventure sport where a river is navigated in a decked kayak. Whitewater kayaking includes several styles. River running; where the paddler follows a river and paddles rapids as they travel. Creeking usually involving sm ...

by the Eastern Anatolia Tourism Development Project. It attracts kayakers and rafters from all over the world and was the site of the 4th World Rafting Championship in 1993 and the Coruh Extreme kayak competition in 2005.

Dams

A total of 17 large hydroelectric dams are planned as part of the Çoruh River Development Plan but a total of 27 are proposed for the Çoruh River Catchment. Under the Çoruh Development Plan, 8 dams have been completed (Arkun, Artvin, Borçka, Deriner, Güllübağ, Murtli, Tortum and Yusufeli Dams), another 2 are under construction.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coruh Rivers of Georgia (country) Rivers of Turkey International rivers of Asia International rivers of Europe Landforms of Bayburt Province Landforms of Artvin Province Landforms of Erzurum Province Rivers of Artvin Province Tributaries of the Black Sea

Biodiversity

Recreation

Dams

See also

References