Tajikistan Rivers

A mountainous Central Asian country, the Republic of TAJIKISTAN boasts relatively clean rivers refilled by glacial water and naturally-melting glaciers. The Panj (Pyandzh) river travels along most of Tajikistan's southern border with Afghanistan, while the river's headwater source flows westward in Afghanistan's panhandle. Towns and cities located along the Panj river include Dusti, Panj (Pyandzh), Khorugh, and Vrang. Panj is a tributary to the Amu Darya river, which flows through Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan before reaching the rapidly-drying Aral Sea to the northwest. As the GeoFact of the Day Blog map indicates, multiple tributaries flow to conjoin with the Panj river. Along the river from west to east, tributaries include the Gunt, Bartang, Yakhsu (not shown on map), Vakhsh (west of Yakhsu river), and Kofarnihon (Karfirnigan) rivers.

Kofarnihon flows past cities such as Dushanbe — Tajikistan's capital — and Vahdat, formerly known as Ordzhonikidzeabad during the Soviet era and Kofarnihon until the early 2000s. With about 100,000 residents, Kulob is situated next to Yakhsu, while Vakhsh flows past cities such as Jirgatal', Obigarm, and Qurghonteppa. Tributaries of the Vakhsh river include Muksu and Obikhingou. The Bartang river is interesting because it has a different name in each section, as you can see with the map above. The westernmost section is called Bartang until the river reaches Lake Sarez (Sarezskoye) in the east. From that point, the Bartang name transitions to Murghob river then to Oqsu river. Gunt river flows past Khorugh city like the Panj river does. Gunt also flows through the Pereval Nayzatash (Nayzatash Pass), with an elevation of 4,137 meters tall. Finally, northern Tajikistan has two main rivers: Syr Darya and Zarafshon (Zeravshan). Syr Darya features the Kayrakkum Reservoir, created by one of Tajikistan's most productive hydroelectric dams.

Here is my Tajikistan post, posted in 2010 but updated just now!