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. 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. 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. 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. 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 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) * Tar (left) * Jazy (right) * Kurshab (left) * Kögart (right) * Kara-Üngkür (right) * Aravansay (left) Syrdaryamap

References

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