Kura (South Caucasus river)

Kura Mtkvari
Confluence of clay-colored waters of Kura (left) with Aragvi (right) near Mtskheta
Kura River Basin
Location
Countries	Turkey Georgia Azerbaijan
Region	Caucasus
Cities	Khashuri Gori Borjomi Tbilisi Rustavi Mingacevir Zardab Sabirabad Neftçala
Physical characteristics
Source	Lesser Caucasus
• location	Near Kartsakhi Lake, Kars, Turkey
• coordinates	40°40′31″N 42°44′32″E / 40.67528°N 42.74222°E / 40.67528; 42.74222
• elevation	2,740 m (8,990 ft)[1]
Mouth	Caspian Sea
• location	Neftçala, Neftchala Rayon, Azerbaijan
• coordinates	40°40′18″N 42°45′55″E / 40.6715688305°N 42.765199064°E / 40.6715688305; 42.765199064 40.67156883058258, 42.76519906444574
• elevation	−26.5 m (−87 ft)[2]
Length	1,515 km (941 mi)[3]
Basin size	198,300 km2 (76,600 sq mi)[4]
Discharge
• location	directly downstream from Aras River confluence[5]
• average	443 m3/s (15,600 cu ft/s)[5]
• minimum	206 m3/s (7,300 cu ft/s)[6]
• maximum	2,250 m3/s (79,000 cu ft/s)[6]
Discharge
• location	border of Georgia and Azerbaijan
• average	378 m3/s (13,300 cu ft/s)
Basin features
River system	Caspian Sea basin
Tributaries
• left	Liakhvi, Ksani, Aragvi, Iori, Alazani
• right	Algeti, Khrami, Tartarchay, Aras

The Kura, also known in Georgian as Mtkvari, is an east-flowing transboundary river south of the Greater Caucasus Mountains which drains the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus east into the Caspian Sea. It also drains the north side of the Lesser Caucasus, while its main tributary, the Aras, drains the south side of those mountains. Starting in northeastern Turkey, the Kura flows through to Georgia, then into Azerbaijan, where it receives the Aras as a right tributary, and finally enters the Caspian Sea. The total length of the river is 1,515 kilometres (941 mi).

People have inhabited the Caucasus region for thousands of years and first established agriculture in the Kura Valley over 4,500 years ago. Large, complex civilizations eventually grew on the river, but by 1200 CE most were reduced to ruin by natural disasters and foreign invaders. The increasing human use, and eventual damage, of the watershed's forests and grasslands, contributed to a rising intensity of floods through the 20th century. In the 1950s, the Soviet Union started building many dams and canals on the river. Previously navigable up to Tbilisi in Georgia, the Kura is now much slower and shallower, having been harnessed by irrigation projects and hydroelectric power stations. The river is now moderately polluted by major industrial centers like Tbilisi and Rustavi in Georgia.