Euphrates

Euphrates
The Euphrates in Gaziantep Province, Turkey.
Map of the combined Tigris–Euphrates drainage basin (in yellow)
Etymology	from Akkadian Purattu, from Sumerian Burannu
Location
Country	Turkey, Iraq, Syria
Source region	Armenian highlands[1]
Cities	Birecik, Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, Mayadin, Haditha, Ramadi, Habbaniyah, Fallujah, Kufa, Samawah, Nasiriyah
Physical characteristics
Source	Murat River
• location	Çat, Turkey
• coordinates	39°43′44″N 41°13′23″E / 39.729°N 41.223°E / 39.729; 41.223
• elevation	3,520 m (11,550 ft)
2nd source	Karasu
• location	Yakutiye, Turkey
• coordinates	40°11′24″N 41°30′25″E / 40.190°N 41.507°E / 40.190; 41.507
• elevation	3,290 m (10,790 ft)
Source confluence
• location	Keban, Turkey
• coordinates	39°43′44″N 40°15′25″E / 39.729°N 40.257°E / 39.729; 40.257
• elevation	610 m (2,000 ft)
Mouth	Shatt al-Arab
• location	Al-Qurnah, Iraq
• coordinates	31°0′18″N 47°26′31″E / 31.00500°N 47.44194°E / 31.00500; 47.44194
• elevation	1 m (3.3 ft)
Length	Approx. 2,800 km (1,700 mi)
Basin size	Approx. 500,000 km2 (190,000 sq mi)
Discharge
• location	Hīt
• average	356 m3/s (12,600 cu ft/s)
• minimum	58 m3/s (2,000 cu ft/s)
• maximum	2,514 m3/s (88,800 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Progression	Shatt al-Arab → Persian Gulf
River system	Tigris–Euphrates river system
Tributaries
• left	Balikh, Khabur
• right	Sajur

The Euphrates (/juːˈfreɪtiːz/ ^ⓘ yoo-FRAY-teez; see below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (lit. 'the land between the rivers'). Originating in Turkey, the Euphrates flows through Syria and Iraq to join the Tigris in the Shatt al-Arab in Iraq, which empties into the Persian Gulf.

The Euphrates is the fifteenth-longest river in Asia and the longest in Western Asia, at about 2,780 km (1,730 mi), with a drainage area of 440,000 km² (170,000 sq mi) that covers six countries.