TheKarun[2] (Persian:کارون,IPA:[kɒːˈɾuːn]), the Ancient GreekEulaeus (Greek:Εὔλαιος or Εὐλαῖος, Hebrew Ulai (Hebrew:אולי), is theIranian river with the highest water flow, and the country's only navigableriver. It is 950 km (590 mi) long. The Karun rises in theZard Kuh mountains of theBakhtiari district in theZagros Range, receiving many tributaries, such as theDez and theKuhrang. It passes through the city ofAhvaz, the capital of theKhuzestan Province of Iran, before emptying to its mouth intoArvand Rud.[3]
The Karun continues toward thePersian Gulf, forking into two primary branches on itsdelta – theBahmanshir and theHaffar – that join theArvand Rud, emptying into the Persian Gulf. The important Island ofAbadan is located between these two branches of the Karun.[3] The port city ofKhorramshahr is divided from the Island of Abadan by the Haffar branch.
In early classical times, the Karun was known as thePasitigris. The modern medieval and modern name, Karun, is a corruption of the nameKuhrang, which is still maintained by one of the two primary tributaries of the Karun.J. G. Lorimer also records in hisGazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia that it was known by the name "Dujail," which could be translated "Little Tigris," tomedievalArab and Persiangeographers.
It originates in theZagros Mountains of western Iran, on the slopes of 4,221 m (13,848 ft)Zard-Kuh. The river flows south and west through several prominent mountain ridges and receives additional water from theVanak on the south bank and theBazoft on the north. These tributaries add to the catchment of the river above theKarun-4 Dam. 25 kilometres (16 mi) downstream, the Karun widens into the reservoir formed by theKarun-3 Dam.
TheKhersan flows into a reservoir from the southeast passin through it in a narrow canyon, now in a northwest direction, pastIzeh, eventually winding into the Sussan Plain. The Karun then turns north into the reservoir ofShahid Abbaspour Dam (Karun-1), which floods the river's defile to the southwest. The Karun flows southwest into the impoundment ofMasjed Soleyman Dam (Karun-2), then turns northwest. Finally, it leaves the foothills and flows south pastShushtar and its confluence with theDez. It then bends southwest, bisecting the city ofAhvaz, and south through farmland to its mouth on the Arvand Roud atKhorramshahr, where its water, together with that of theTigris andEuphrates, turns sharply southeast to flow to thePersian Gulf.[4][5]
Catchment area of Karun River (in deep blue)Karun River near the city ofAhvaz
The largest river by discharge in Iran, the Karun River'swatershed covers 65,230 square kilometres (25,190 sq mi) in parts of two Iranian provinces. The river is around 950 kilometres (590 mi) long and has an average discharge of 575 cubic metres per second (20,300 cu ft/s). The largest city on the river isAhvaz, with over 1.3 million inhabitants. Other important cities include Shushtar, Khorramshahr (a port),Masjed-Soleyman, and Izeh.
Much of Khuzestan's transport and resources are connected in one way or another to the Karun. Since theBritish first discovered oil atMasjed Soleyman, the Karun has been an important route for the transport of petroleum to thePersian Gulf, and remains an important commercial waterway.[6]Water from the Karun providesirrigation to over 280,000 hectares (690,000 acres) of the surrounding plain and a further 100,000 hectares (250,000 acres) are planned to receive water.[7]
Terracotta vessel with geometrical decorations. Susa I period (4200–3800 BC) -Louvre Museum
Karun River lies between theSusa plain, the location of the ancient cultures dating back to the fifth millennium BC and, to the south, the newly discovered ancient culture of theZohreh River plain from the same period. The principal ancient site being excavated near the Zohreh River is Tal-e Choga Sofla(fa), which has many parallels with Susa.[8]
Later, the Karun valley was also inhabited by theElamite civilization which rose about 2,700 BC. At several points in history,Mesopotamian civilizations such asUr andBabylon overthrew the Elamites and gained control of the Karun and its surroundings in modern Khuzestan. However, the Elamite empire lasted until about 640 BC, when theAssyrians overran it. The city ofSusa, near the modern city ofShush between the Dez andKarkheh rivers, was one of their largest before it was destroyed by the invaders.[9]
Karun at night
The first known major bridge across the river was built by theRoman captives that included its emperorValerianus in theSassanid era, whence the name of the bridge and damBand-e Kaisar, "Caesar's dam", at Shushtar (3rd century AD).
In two of several competing theories about the origins and location of theGarden of Eden, the Karun is presumed to be theGihon River described in theBiblical book ofGenesis.[10] The strongest of these theories, propounded by archaeologistJuris Zarins, places the Garden of Eden at the northern tip of the Persian Gulf, fed by the four rivers Tigris, the Euphrates, Gihon (Karun) andPishon (Wadi al-Batin).
In 1888, during a period of increasing British influence insouthern Iran, Lynch Brothers opened the first regular steamship service on the river linkingKhorramshahr andAhvaz.[11]
The name of the river is derived from the mountain peak, Kuhrang, which serves as its source.The film documentary,Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life (1925), tells the story of the Bakhtiari tribe crossing this river.
Derelict vessels and a bridge over the Karun inKhorramshahr
In September 2009, three districts ofBasra province in southern Iraq were declared disaster-hit areas as a result of Iran's construction of new dams on the Karun. The new dams resulted in high levels of salinity in theArvand Roud (Shatt al-Arab), which destroyed farm areas and threatened livestock in that Iraqi Basra area. Civilians in the area were forced to evacuate.[12]
There are a number of dams on the Karun River, mainly built to generatehydroelectric power and provideflood control.Gotvand Dam,Masjed Soleyman Dam, Karun-1 (Shahid Abbaspour Dam),Karun-3, andKarun-4, most of them owned by the Iran Water and Power Resources Development Co., are all on the main stem. Karun-2 would potentially be located in the Sussan Plain between Shahid Abbaspour and Karun-3, but the project is still under consideration because of concern over submerging archaeological sites.[13]
A Karun-5 dam upstream of Karun-4 has also been proposed.[14] The Masjed Soleyman,[15] Shahid Abbaspour, and Karun-3[16] dams each generate 1,000–2,000 MW of power to service thepeaking power sector of Iran's electricity grid, and when completed, Karun-4 will also generate 1,000 MW.[17] There are also many dams on the river's tributaries.Dez Dam,Bakhtiari Dam (under construction) andKhersan-3 Dam (under construction) are among them. Khersan 1, Khersan 2, Zalaki, Liro, Roudbar Lorestan, Bazoft, and others are proposed.[14] The dams on the Karun have had a significant effect on thesediment transport and the ecology of the river, and have required the relocation of thousands of residents.
^ab"Karun River at Ahvaz".River Discharge Database. Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment. 1965–1984. Archived fromthe original on 2010-06-20. Retrieved2010-03-15.
^Moghaddam, A. (2016). A fifth-millennium BC cemetery in the north Persian Gulf: The Zohreh Prehistoric Project. Antiquity, 90(353), E3.doi:10.15184/aqy.2016.166
^Shahmiri, Cyrus."Elamite Empire".History of Iran. Iran Chamber Society. Retrieved2010-03-14.
^"And the name of the second river isGihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land ofCush." (Genesis,2:13)
^abKarun & Dez Development Exploitation (Map). Cartography by Iran Water & Power Resources Development Co. Masjed Soleiman Project. Retrieved2010-03-14.
Karun-3, Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant,History.
N. Jafarzadeh, S. Rostami, K. Sepehrfar, and A. Lahijanzadeh,Identification of the Water Pollutant Industries in Khuzastan Province, Iranian Journal of Environmental Health Science & Engineering, Vol.1, No. 2, pp. 36–42 (2004).[1]
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