The Kara Darya (; ; ) is a major river in southern

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

and eastern

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

. It is one of the two source rivers of the

Syr Darya The Syr Darya ( ),; ; ; ; ; /. historically known as the Jaxartes ( , ), is a river in Central Asia. The name, which is Persian language, Persian, literally means ''Syr Sea'' or ''Syr River''. It originates in the Tian Shan, Tian Shan Mountain ...

(the second largest river of

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

), the other source being the

Naryn Naryn ( ; ) is the regional administrative center of Naryn Region in central Kyrgyzstan. Its area is , and its estimated population was 41,178 as of January 2021. The town was established as a fortress on the caravan route in 1868. It is situated ...

. The Kara Darya is formed by the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

of the rivers Kara-Kulja and

Tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black b ...

. Its length is , and watershed area .Карадарья

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; , ''BSE'') is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Great Russian Enc ...

The upper Kara Darya flows northwest across eastern

Osh Region Osh is a Regions of Kyrgyzstan, region of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Osh, which is not part of the region. It is bounded (clockwise) by Jalal-Abad Region, Naryn Region, China (Xinjiang), Tajikistan (Districts under Central Government Jurisdiction ...

southwest of and parallel to the

Fergana Range The Fergana Range (; ) is a mountain range of the Tian Shan in the Kyrgyz Republic. The length of the range is 206 km, and the average height is 3,600 m above sea level. The highest mountain is 4,893 m above sea level. Geography The Fergan ...

. It enters the

Fergana Valley The Fergana Valley (also commonly spelled the Ferghana Valley) in Central Asia crosses eastern Uzbekistan, southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan. Encompassing three former Republics of the Soviet Union, Soviet republics, the valley is e ...

and Uzbek territory a few kilometres west of

Özgön Özgön () or Uzgen () (from Sogdian Uzkand ("city of the ''Uz'' ")Room, Adrian (2006). ''Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for 6,600 Countries, Cities, Territories, Natural Features and Historic Sites'' (2nd ed.). Lon ...

. In its lower course through the Fergana Valley it is used for

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) 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 bee ...

. There is a dam at

Kuyganyor Kuyganyor (also spelled as Kuyganyar, , ) is an urban-type settlement in Andijan Region, Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of U ...

(north of Andijan) where part of its water is diverted into the

Great Fergana Canal The Great Fergana Canal (, , , ) is an irrigation canal located on the Fergana Valley between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in Central Asia. The project was constructed in 1939 by 160,000 Uzbeks, Uzbek and Tajiks, Tajik (mainly uzbek) collective farm ...

. The Andijan Dam, built in 1973, created the Andijan Reservoir. There are more than 200 known tributaries of Kara Darya; the largest are, from source to mouth: * Kara-Kulja (right) *

(left) * Jazy (right) * Kurshab (left) *

Kögart The Kögart (, ) is a right tributary of the Kara Darya in Kyrgyzstan. The river is formed at the south-west slope of the Fergana Range. The river's length is 105 km, and its basin area is 1370 km2. The annual average flow rate is 18.1 m3/s with ...

(right) * Kara-Üngkür (right) * Aravansay (left) Syrdaryamap

References

Tributaries of the Syr Darya Lowest points of countries {{Uzbekistan-river-stub