Little Zab

Coordinates: 35°14′17″N 43°26′11″E / 35.23806°N 43.43639°E / 35.23806; 43.43639
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Little Zab
Suleymaniyah, Iraq
French map showing the Little Zab (Petit Zab) and the locations of the Dukan Dam and the Dibis Dam
Location
CountryIran, Iraq
RegionIraqi Kurdistan
DistrictErbil Governorate
MunicipalityErbil
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationZagros Mountains, Iran
 • elevation3,000 m (9,800 ft)approx.
Mouth 
 • location
Tigris, Kirkuk Governorate, Iraq
 • coordinates
35°14′17″N 43°26′11″E / 35.23806°N 43.43639°E / 35.23806; 43.43639
Length400 km (250 mi)approx.
Basin size22,000 km2 (8,500 sq mi)approx.
Discharge 
 • average197.8 m3/s (6,990 cu ft/s)
 • maximum3,420 m3/s (121,000 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftBaneh, Qala Chulan, Rubar-i-Basalam

The Little Zab or Lower Zab (

Arabic: الزاب الاسفل, al-Zāb al-Asfal; Kurdish: Zêy Koya or Zêyê Biçûk; Persian: زاب کوچک, Zâb-e Kuchak; Syriac: ܙܒܐ ܬܚܬܝܐ, Zāba Taḥtāya) is a river that originates in Iran and joins the Tigris just south of Al Zab in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The Little Zab is approximately 400 kilometres (250 mi) long and drains an area of about 22,000 square kilometres (8,500 sq mi). The river is fed by rainfall and snowmelt, resulting in a peak discharge in the spring and low water in the summer and early fall. Two dams built on the Little Zab regulate the river flow, providing water for irrigation and generating hydroelectricity. The Zagros Mountains have been populated since at least the Lower Palaeolithic, but the earliest archaeological site in the Little Zab basin, Barda Balka, dates to the Middle Palaeolithic
. Human occupation of the Little Zab basin has been attested for every period since then.

Course

The Little Zab rises in the Mountains in Iraq at an elevation of circa 3,000 metres (9,800 ft)

amsl.[2] In its upper reaches, the course of the Little Zab is determined by the alignment of the major mountain chains that make up the Zagros. Thus, the river flows through valleys that are predominantly aligned along a northwest–southeast axis, parallel to the major mountain chains of the Zagros, only to change its direction abruptly where it cuts through these chains in narrow gorges.[3] Along the way, it collects the waters coming down from the eastern face of the Qandil Mountains, which now form the border between Iran and Iraq.[4]: 62  The Little Zab enters the Mesopotamian plain south of Dukan, where it first assumes a roughly westward course before turning to the southwest upstream from the town of Altun Kopru and uniting with the Tigris near the town of Al Zab.[5] Most tributaries join the Little Zab upstream from Dukan, with the largest being the Baneh River and the Qala Chulan.[3] A number of smaller streams joined the Little Zab in the Ranya Plain, which is now partly inundated by Lake Dukan.[6]

Different estimates have been given for the length of the Little Zab: 380 kilometres (240 mi),[7] 400 kilometres (250 mi)[8] and 456 kilometres (283 mi).[2][9] For a short distance, the Little Zab forms the border between Iran and Iraq, and along its lower course it also constitutes the border between Erbil Governorate and Sulaymaniyah Governorate, and Erbil and Kirkuk Governorates. The river is fed by snowmelt and rainfall, resulting in a peak discharge in the period February–May. Low water levels are recorded for the period July–October. The average discharge of the Little Zab is 197.8 cubic metres (6,990 cu ft) per second, whereas the maximum recorded discharge is 3,420 cubic metres (121,000 cu ft) per second. Average annual discharge is 7.2 cubic kilometres (1.7 cu mi).[8][10][11] Because of its torrential nature, Medieval Arab geographers have described the Little Zab, and the Great Zab as well, as "demoniacally possessed".[1]

Watershed

The

Shahrazor.[13][14]

The Little Zab crosses very diverse climatic and ecological zones. Annual precipitation along the course of the river diminishes from over 1,000 millimetres (39 in) in the Iranian Zagros to less than 200 millimetres (7.9 in) at the confluence with the Tigris near

Quercus aegilops), but not much of this original vegetation remains. The river valleys are characterized by water-loving plants, and marshy areas were in the past – in the absence of drainage – prone to malaria.[17][18][19] Although the foothill zone, especially the plain of Erbil, is heavily cultivated, patches of natural vegetation remain, with herbs in the genus Phlomis being very common.[20]

River modifications

Main articles: Dukan Dam and Dibis Dam

Two dams have been constructed on the Little Zab in Iraq while Iran is currently constructing one with two others planned. The two in Iraq are the Dukan Dam and the

archaeological survey and rescue excavations were carried out in the endangered region – notably at the sites of Tell Shemshara and Tell Bazmusian.[22][23] The Dibis Dam is located approximately 130 kilometres (81 mi) upstream from the confluence with the Tigris and was constructed between 1960 and 1965. The embankment dam is 376 metres (1,234 ft) long and 23.75 metres (77.9 ft) wide and provides water for the Kirkuk Irrigation Project.[24] Currently under construction in Iran is the Sardasht Dam. Construction began in 2011 and when complete, the 116 m (381 ft) tall embankment dam will support a 120 MW power station. Above the Sardasht Dam, Iran is planning to construct the Shivahan and Garjhal Dams with the primary purpose of power generation.[25][26][27][28][29]

Iran has diverted as much as 600,000,000 cubic metres (2.1×1010 cu ft) of its water in efforts to restore Lake Urmia. This competes with need for the water in Kurdistan Region in Iraq.[30]

History

Further information: Iraqi Kurdistan § History

Although

Hassuna. The early occupation of Tell Shemshara, in the Ranya Plain, can also be dated to this period.[40][41] The archaeological fieldwork in the Ranya Plain showed that this area was occupied during the Ubaid, Uruk and Ninevite V periods – roughly from the middle 6th to the mid-3rd millennium BCE.[42] Evidence for these periods comes from the Citadel of Erbil as well.[43]

The region enters history at the end of the 3rd millennium BCE, when Erbil is mentioned as Urbilum by king

Darius III was defeated by Alexander the Great at the Battle of Gaugamela in northern Iraq and after Alexander's death in 323, the area fell to his Seleucid successors.[48]

On the

Ortelius Theatrum Orbis Terrarum
maps of Turkish Empire and Persian Kingdom it is listed as Noue aque fl.

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f Bosworth 2010
  2. ^ a b c Iraqi Ministries of Environment, Water Resources and Municipalities and Public Works 2006a, p. 64
  3. ^ a b Naval Intelligence Division 1944, p. 100
  4. ^ Minorsky, Vladimir (1957). "Mongol Place-Names in Mukri Kurdistan". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 19 (1): 58–81. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  5. ^ Naval Intelligence Division 1944, pp. 89–90
  6. ^ Naval Intelligence Division 1944, p. 101
  7. ^ Kliot 1994, p. 101
  8. ^ a b Shahin 2007, p. 249
  9. ^ Isaev & Mikhailova 2009, p. 386
  10. ^ a b c Fink & Ostrizhnov 1983, p. 519
  11. ^ Kolars 1994, p. 87
  12. ^ a b Frenken 2009, p. 203
  13. ^ Buringh 1960, p. 37
  14. ^ Iraqi Ministries of Environment, Water Resources and Municipalities and Public Works 2006a, pp. 45–46
  15. ^ Buringh 1960, p. 43
  16. ^ US Air Force Combat Climatology Center 2009
  17. ^ Edmonds 1957, p. 20
  18. ^ Naval Intelligence Division 1944, pp. 195–197
  19. ^ Solecki 2005, p. 164
  20. ^ Naval Intelligence Division 1944, p. 194
  21. ^ Iraqi Ministries of Environment, Water Resources and Municipalities and Public Works 2006b, pp. 15–16
  22. ^ Al-Soof 1970
  23. ^ Mortensen 1970
  24. ^ Iraqi Ministries of Environment, Water Resources and Municipalities and Public Works 2006b, p. 17
  25. ^ "Construction of dams and hydroelectric power plant began operation Sardasht" (in Persian). Shasa. 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  26. ^ "Sardasht Dam and Powerhouse Project". SEPASAD Engineering Co. Archived from the original on 15 May 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  27. ^ "Projects - Sardasht Dam and Powerhouse". SEPASAD Engineering Co. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  28. ^ "Hydroelectric Project Activity" (in Persian). Farab Energy and Water. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  29. ^ "IWPC Tender". Iran Water and Power Resources Development Company. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  30. ^ StoneApr. 29, Richard (29 April 2021). "After revival, Iran's great salt lake faces new peril". Science | AAAS. Retrieved 3 July 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  31. ^ Braidwood & Howe 1960, pp. 12–13
  32. ^ Biglari & Shidrang 2006
  33. ^ Braidwood & Howe 1960, p. 61
  34. ^ Mohammadifar & Motarjem 2008
  35. ^ Solecki 1963
  36. ^ Hunt 2010
  37. ^ Braidwood & Howe 1960, p. 180
  38. ^ Zeder 1999, p. 22
  39. ^ Braidwood & Howe 1960, p. 183
  40. ^ Braidwood & Howe 1960, pp. 43–44
  41. ^ Mortensen 1970, p. 2
  42. ^ Al-Soof 1968
  43. ^ Nováček et al. 2008, p. 276
  44. ^ Villard 2001
  45. ^ Eidem 1985
  46. ^ Stein 1997
  47. ^ van de Mieroop 2007, p. 273
  48. ^ van de Mieroop 2007, p. 300

Bibliography

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