Ceyhan River
The Ceyhan River (historically Pyramos or Pyramus (Greek: Πύραμος), Leucosyrus (Greek: Λευκόσυρος)[1] or Jihun)[2] is a river in Anatolia in the south of Turkey.
Course of the river
The Ceyhan River (Pyramus) has its source (known as Söğütlü Dere) at a location called Pınarbaşı 3 km (1.9 mi) on the
In classical times for a time it passed under ground, but then came forward again as a navigable river, and forced its way through a glen of
At present, because of the narrow deep valleys that used to exist, the Ceyhan River has been dammed for hydroelectric generation, for flood control and for providing irrigation to the fertile Çukurova region. The main hydroelectric generating dams are at Menzelet, Kılavuzlu, Aslantaş, Sır and Berke. Of the deep valleys, only the one called Kısıklı Canyon exists in its natural form, south of the location the Menzelet Dam.
The quantity of water flow on the Ceyhan River changes greatly season by season. During August and September the river is at its lowest flow. During November and December the autumn rains temporarily raise the water flow rate from 50 to 380 cubic metres per second (1,800 to 13,400 cu ft/s). In January the flow rate decreases until mid-February. As the snows melt in the Taurus Mountains during spring and early summer months, the flow increases and, periodically caused flooding prior to its damming. During the last quarter of the 20th century, during the floods, the two rivers of the Çukurova plain, the Ceyhan River and the Seyhan River, joined at least 6 times.[7]
In classical times the Ceyhan River reached the Mediterranean Sea at
References
(Comp.
, Anab. ii.5.8.)Notes
- ^ Stephanus of Byzantium (s. v.) states that formerly this river had been called Leucosyrus.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Strabo i. p. 53, xiv. p. 675.
- ^ Strab. xii. p. 536.
- Tzetzes. ad Lycophron 440.
- ^ Xenoph. Anab. i.4.1.
- ^ Source: "Ceyhan Nehri hakkında ansiklopedik bilgi - Türkçe Bilgi'den". Archived from the original on 2008-10-10. Retrieved 2009-06-30. Turkcebilgi Encyclopedia website. (Turkish) (Reference date:29.6.2009)
- ^ Strab. l. c.; Eustath. ad Dionys., 867
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Pyramus". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.