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Helmand
River
Also spelled HELMUND, or HILMAND, Persian DARYA-YE HELMAND, Latin
ERYMANDRUS, river in southwestern Afghanistan and eastern Iran, about
715 miles (1,150 km) long. Rising in the Baba Range in east-central
Afghanistan, it flows southwestward across more than half the length
of Afghanistan before flowing northward for a short distance through
Iranian territory and emptying into the Helmand (Sistan) swamps on
the Afghan-Iranian border. It receives several tributaries, including
the Arghandab and Tarnak, and drains more than 100,000 square miles
(160,000 square km).
The Helmand is one of Afghanistan's most important rivers and has
been extensively developed under the Helmand
Valley Authority. A reservoir has been built at Kajaki, 50 miles
(80 km) above Gereshk, for irrigation and flood control, and just
above the same town a dam diverts water to a canal. Below the reservoir
much of the river's length is tapped for irrigation, and a fertile,
populous belt follows its course. A long-standing dispute between
Afghanistan and Iran has centred on Iran's claim to a portion of
the Helmand's waters. |
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