Harirud
Harirud is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 34.40°, 63.20°
About Harirud
The Hari River (Persian: هریرود or Dari: هری رود, romanized: Harī Rōd; Pashto: د هري سیند) or Herat River or Tejen River or Harirud is a river flowing 1,100 kilometres (680 mi) from the mountains of central Afghanistan to Turkmenistan, where it forms the Tejen oasis and disappears in the Karakum Desert. In its lower course, the river forms a northern part of the border between Afghanistan and Iran, and a southeastern part of the border between Turkmenistan and Iran.
The name of the river derives from the Old Persian word Harawaiah 'river rich in water'.
In Turkmenistan, the Hari is known as the Tejen or Tedzhen river and passes close to the city of Tejen. To the ancient Greeks, it was known as the Arius. In Latin, it was known as the Tarius.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Hari (Afghanistan) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Harirud in Depth
Course
The river originates in the eastern part of Ghor Province in the Baba mountain range, part of the extensions of Hindu Kush system, and follows a relatively straight course to the west.
Some 200 kilometres (120 mi) upstream from Herat, the river meets the Jam River at the site of the Minaret of Jam, the second tallest ancient minaret in the world at 65 metres (213 ft).
In western Afghanistan, the Hari Rud flows to the south of Herat. The valley around Herat with the Paropamisus Mountains (Selseleh-ye Safēd Kōh) on the right river bank was historically famous for its fertility and dense cultivation. After Herat, the river turns northwest, then north, forming the northern part of the border between Afghanistan and Iran.
History
One theory suggests that the Rigvedic Sarayu and the Hari are the same river.
A Buddhist monastery hand-carved in the bluff of the river Harirud existed in the first centuries during the prevalence of Buddhism. The artificial caves revealed testimony of daily life of the Buddhist monks.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Hari (Afghanistan) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Harirud: Key Facts
| Length | 1,150 km |
|---|---|
| Average discharge | 30 m³/s |
| Drainage basin | 70,600 km² |
| Mouth | Karakum Desert |
| Drainage system | Karakum Basin |
| Tributaries | Kashaf River, Jamrud River |
Facts from Wikidata Q8505 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Harirud: Quick Answers
- Where is Harirud?
- Harirud is located in Afghanistan and Turkmenistan and Iran, at 34.4027° N, 63.2045° E.
- Are there dams on the Harirud?
- No dam on the Harirud is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.