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The Aragvi ( ka, არაგვი, tr ) and its basin are in
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
on the southern slopes of the
Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains * * Azerbaijani: , * * * * * * * * * * * is a mountain range at the intersection of Asia and Europe. Stretching between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, they are surrounded by the Caucasus region ...
. The river is long, and its basin covers an area of . The ground strata are mostly
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
,
slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
, and
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
. The Zhinvali Dam and its 130 MW hydro-electric power station generate much of Georgia's power, and its construction in 1986 formed the Zhinvali Reservoir, upon whose north-western shores rises
Ananuri Ananuri () is a castle complex on the Aragvi River in Dusheti Municipality Georgia (country), Georgia, about from Tbilisi. History Ananuri was a castle and seat of the ''eristavis'' (Dukes) of Duchy of Aragvi, Aragvi, a feudal dynasty which rul ...
castle with its 17th-century Church of the Assumption.


Confusion over name and course

Given its etymology (see below; the word simply means "river"), the exact course of the Aragvi River is the source of some confusion. The river has several important tributaries, all called "Aragvi": The Tetri Aragvi ("White Aragvi") flows from Gudauri down to the town of Pasanauri, where it is joined by the Shavi Aragvi ("Black Aragvi"), the main river of Gudamakari to the north-east. Together, these two rivers continue as, simply, "the Aragvi"; from Pasanauri, the Aragvi flows south-east to the Zhinvali Reservoir, where it is joined by the Pshav Aragvi (itself fed by the Khevsur Aragvi) before flowing south to merge with the Mtkvari by
Mtskheta Mtskheta ( ka, მცხეთა} ) is a city in the Mkhare, region of Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Georgia (country), Georgia. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is locat ...
, Eastern Georgia's ancient capital just north of
Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...
.


Etymology

According to
Iranologist Iranian studies ( '), also referred to as Iranology and Iranistics, is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the research and study of the civilization, history, literature, art and culture of Iranian peoples. It is a part of the wider field ...
Anahit Perikhanian, the name of the river derives from
Old Iranian The Iranian languages, also called the Iranic languages, are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau. The Iranian language ...
*, from Proto-Iranian *, the feminine form of * (compare Sanskrit , feminine of , and Armenian / , an Iranian borrowing).


Use and infrastructure

The high dam by Zhinvali is one of the largest in Georgia. Besides generating up to 130 MW of electricity, the waters of the Aragvi travel down a pipe to provide drinking water in Tbilisi and to irrigate fields.


Gallery

File:Zhinvali reservoir.jpg, Zhinvali reservoir File:Ananuridc.jpg,
Ananuri Ananuri () is a castle complex on the Aragvi River in Dusheti Municipality Georgia (country), Georgia, about from Tbilisi. History Ananuri was a castle and seat of the ''eristavis'' (Dukes) of Duchy of Aragvi, Aragvi, a feudal dynasty which rul ...
castle File:Zhinvali Dam.jpg, Hydroelectric dam on the Aragvi File:Aragvi_Source_July2009.jpg, The source of the Aragvi to the north of Gudauri


Notes

Rivers of Georgia (country) {{Georgia-river-stub