Water bodies of Azerbaijan facts for kids

Caspian Sea coast in Hovsan.

Below is a list of the water bodies of Azerbaijan, which include rivers and lakes. Canals which are artificial rivers and reservoirs which are artifical lakes are also a part of Azerbaijan's water systems.

The hydrography of Azerbaijan basically belongs to the Caspian Sea drainage basin.

Rivers

The Kur and Aras are the longest rivers of Azerbaijan and their drainage basin covers most of the country.

The Aras River in Iranian border with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan.

There are 8,359 rivers of various lengths within Azerbaijan. Of them 8,188 rivers are less than 25 kilometers in length. Only 24 rivers are over 100 kilometers long. The largest rivers that flow through the country are:

• Kur
• Aras
• Qanix, located in Alazan
• Qabirri, also known as Iori in Georgia
• Samur
• Pirsaat
• Tartarchay (tributaries Levchay, Addabanchay, Turagaychay)
• Turyan
• Agstafa
• Hekeri
• Vilesh

River system

The rivers in Azerbaijan can be divided into three groups:

1. The Kur basin rivers (Qanix, Qabirri, Turyan, Agstafa, Shekir, Terter, Khachin, etc.)
2. The Aras basin rivers (Arpachay, Nakhchivan, Okhchu, Hekeri, Kondelenchay, etc.)
3. Rivers, flowing directly into the Caspian Sea (Samur, Gudyal, Velvele, Vilesh, Lenkeran, etc.)

Kur and Aras

The Kur and Aras are the longest rivers in Azerbaijan. The rivers directly flow into the Caspian Sea. They come from the north-eastern slope of the Greater Caucasus and Talysh Mountains and run along the Samur-Devechi and Lenkeran lowlands.

The Kur River drainage basin area (86,000 km²) up to the junction with the Aras River is smaller than the Aras drainage basin (101,937 km²). The river is still called Kur on the junction because the water level of the Kura is twice as high as that of the Aras River.

Lakes

Lake Goygol.

• Aggol
• Jandargol
• Lake Hadjikabul, the largest lake by area and volume
• Lake Boyukshor
• Lake Sarysu
• Lake Goygol
• Maral-gol
• Masazirgol
• Ajinohur
• Boyuk Alagol

Reservoirs

Mingachevir Reservoir seen from outer space.

There are over 60 water reservoirs. These help guide the river flow in Azerbaijan. Most of them are used for irrigation. The largest water reservoirs are:

• Mingachevir reservoir, the largest reservoir by area
• Shemkir reservoir
• Araz reservoir
• Serseng reservoir
• Agstafachay reservoir
• Varvara reservoir
• Jeyranbatan reservoir
• Khanbulanchay reservoir
• Yenikend reservoir

Images for kids

• 

  A map of the Caspian Sea drainage basin to which all rivers in Azerbaijan flow to.