Terek River

Terek River

Map of Terek river
Origin Mount Zilgakhokh, Caucasus Major, Georgia
Mouth Caspian Sea 43°35′43″N 47°33′42″E / 43.595278°N 47.561667°ECoordinates: 43°35′43″N 47°33′42″E / 43.595278°N 47.561667°E
Basin countries Georgia; North Ossetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Stavropol Krai, Chechnya and Dagestan, Russia
Length 623 km (387 mi)
Source elevation 5,037 m (16,526 ft)
Mouth elevation −28 m (−92 ft)
Avg. discharge 305 m3 (10,800 cu ft) per second
Basin area 43,200 km2 (16,700 sq mi)
The Terek river in Vladikavkaz
Mountain Zilgi-Khokh and source of River Terek in 1886.
Terek river in North Georgia

The Terek River (Russian: Те́рек; IPA: [ˈtʲerʲɪk]; Karachay-Balkar: Terk, Georgian: თერგი, Tergi; Ossetian: Терк, Avar: Терек, Terek, Chechen: Теркa, Terka) is a major river in the Northern Caucasus, flowing through Georgia and Russia into the Caspian Sea. It rises in Georgia near the juncture of the The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and the Khokh Range, to the southwest of Mount Kazbek, winding north in a white torrent between the town of Stepantsminda and the village of Gergeti toward the Russian region North Ossetia and the city of Vladikavkaz. It turns east to flow through Chechnya and Dagestan before dividing into two branches which empty into the Caspian Sea. Below the city of Kizlyar it forms a swampy river delta around 100 kilometres (62 mi) wide. Major inflows are Gizeldon, Ardon, Urukh, Fiagdon, Malka, Baksan and Sunzha rivers. The river is a key natural asset in the region, being used for irrigation and hydroelectric power in its upper reaches.

The main cities on the Terek are Vladikavkaz, Mozdok, and Kizlyar. Several minor hydroelectrostations are constructed on Terek: Dzau electrostation (in Vladikavkaz), Bekanskaya and Pavlodolskaya.

Dariali Hydropower Plant with installed capacity of 108 MW is being constructed on the territory of Kazbegi municipality near the Russia–Georgia border.[1] Leo Tolstoy's novel The Cossacks is based on The Terek and its Cossacks

Human history

The capital of Khazaria, Samandar, may have stood on the banks of the river Terek.

The Terek river was the site of the final defeat of the army of Hulagu, khan of the Ilkhanate, at the hands of the army of Berke, khan of the Golden Horde, led by Berke's nephew, Nogai Khan, in the first civil war of the Mongol Empire, the Berke–Hulagu war of 1262. Also on the river Timur defeated Tokhtamysh in 1395.

The Terek Cossack Host (1577–1832 and 1860– ) had its base in the Terek basin.

References

  1. ↑ Dariali Hydro Power Plant Construction and Operation Project (Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Reportt). Darial Energy LLC. Issued in 2011. Retrieved on 2014-16-07.

See also