| Psou | |
|---|---|
 | |
   | |
| Location | |
| Country | Georgia (Abkhazia[1]),Russia |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Greater Caucasus |
| Mouth | |
• location | Black Sea |
• coordinates | 43°23′10″N40°00′36″E / 43.3861°N 40.0101°E /43.3861; 40.0101 |
| Length | 53 km (33 mi) |
| Basin size | 421 km2 (163 sq mi) |
ThePsou (/psoʊ/;Adyghe:Псыу;Georgian:ფსოუ;Abkhaz:Ԥсоу;Russian:Псоу) is a river in theWest Caucasus, bordering theGagra Range to the east. It flows along the southern slopes of theGreater Caucasus Mountain Range and forms a part of the border betweenGeorgia (Abkhazia[1]) andRussia. Its source is in the Aigra Mountain, and it flows into theBlack Sea. The Psou is 53 kilometres (33 mi) long, and thedrainage basin is approximately 421 square kilometres (163 sq mi).[2] Between the mouth of the river and the mouth of theMzymta is a "sandy depositional foreland", which is approximately 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) in length and 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) wide.[3]
The principal tributaries of the Psou are theBesh and thePkhista. Between 1913 and 1955, a hydrological station was in operation atLeselidze, roughly 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) upstream of the river's mouth.[2]The Psou gained notoriety as a smuggling route out of the country, by-passing Russian controls on the border.[4][5] As of 2008 it was still designated as a transboundary river which lacked an international cooperation agreement as part of the UNECE Water Convention.[6]
