Eufrat och tigris

Its primary rivers are the Tigris and Euphrates , along with smaller tributaries. From their sources and upper courses in the Armenian Highlands of eastern Turkey , the rivers descend through valleys and gorges to the uplands of Syria and northern Iraq and then to the alluvial plain of central Iraq. Other tributaries join the Tigris from sources in the Zagros Mountains to the east.

The rivers flow in a south-easterly direction through the central plain and combine at Al-Qurnah to form the Shatt al-Arab and discharge into the Persian Gulf. The region has historical importance as part of the Fertile Crescent region , where Mesopotamian civilization first emerged. In addition, Syrian and Iranian dam construction has also contributed to political tension within the basin, particularly during drought.

The ecoregion is characterized by two large rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates. The high mountains in the upper watershed receive more rain and snow than the lower watershed, which has a hot and arid subtropical climate. Annual snow melt from the mountains brings spring floods, and sustains permanent and seasonal marshes in the lowlands. The plain between the two rivers is known as Mesopotamia.

As part of the larger Fertile Crescent , it saw the earliest emergence of literate urban civilization in the Uruk period. For this reason, it is often described as a " Cradle of Civilization ". There is a large floodplain in the lower basin where the Euphrates, Tigris, and Karun rivers converge to create the Mesopotamian Marshes , which include permanent lakes, marshes, and riparian forests.

The hydrology of these vast marshes is extremely important to the ecology of the entire upper Persian Gulf. Some of the first civilizations emerged from the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. From ancient times empires arose and fell in the river basin, including Sumer , Akkad , Babylonia , Assyria , and the Abbasid Caliphate. Being part of the Fertile Crescent , the river system is recognized as the site of one of the world's first agricultural centers, with areological sites containing preserved grain dating up to 12, years ago.

ruinstad vid tigris

The most abundant fishes are species of barbs Barbus , some of which can reach up to two meters in length. Some species have been important food sources for residents for thousands of years. Specifically, the Mangar fish has been harvested for food in the Tigris-Euphrates basin. Many species move seasonally between the river and the marshes for spawning, feeding, and overwintering.

The Hilsa shad Tenualosa ilisha is an important food fish that lives in the coastal waters and spawns in the lower reaches of the basin. Other ocean species occasionally visit the lower reaches of the rivers; bull sharks Carcharhinus leucas used to swim up the Tigris as far as Baghdad. Endemic fish species in the lower basin include Glyptothorax steindachneri and Hemigrammocapoeta elegans , and as well as two cave fishes, Caecocypris basimi and the Iraq blind barb Typhlogarra widdowsoni , from a cave habitat near Haditha on the Euphrates.

One-third of the fish species in the upper watersheds are endemic, including species of Aphanius , Glyptothorax , Cobitis , Orthrias , and Schistura. Two blind fish species, the Iran cave barb Iranocypris typhlops and the Zagros blind loach Eidinemacheilus smithi , are endemic to cave systems in Iran's upper Karun River watershed.

The species is endangered by drought, habitat destruction , and habitat fragmentation from the construction of the Batman Dam. It had not been observed since and was feared extinct until a expedition netted 14 fish living above the Batman Dam. The Mesopotamian Marshes in southern Iraq were historically the largest wetland ecosystem of Western Eurasia.

The aquatic vegetation includes reeds , rushes , and papyrus , which support numerous species. Areas around the Tigris and the Euphrates are very fertile. Marshy land is home to water birds, some stopping here while migrating, and some spending the winter in these marshes living off the lizards, snakes, frogs, and fish. Other animals found in these marshes are water buffalo , two endemic rodent species, antelopes and gazelles and small animals such as the jerboa and several other mammals.

The wetland birds Basra reed warbler Acrocephalus griseldis and Iraq babbler Argya altirostris are endemic to the Mesopotamian Marshes. The Basra reed warbler is endangered. Another wetland endemic species, Bunn's short-tailed bandicoot rat Nesokia bunnii , is possibly extinct.

mesopotamien idag

Their drainage began in the s, to reclaim land for agriculture and oil exploration. Saddam Hussein extended this work in the late s and early s, as part of ecological warfare against the Marsh Arabs, a rebellious group of people in Baathist Iraq. However, with the breaching of the dikes by local communities after the invasion of Iraq and the ending of a four-year drought that same year, the process has been reversed and the marshes have experienced a substantial rate of recovery.

Iraq suffers from desertification and soil salination due in large part to thousands of years of agricultural activity.

första civilisationen i världen

Water and plant life are sparse. Saddam Hussein 's government water-control projects drained the inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting streams and rivers. Shi'a Muslims were displaced under the Ba'athist regime. The destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations. There are also inadequate supplies of potable water.

The marshlands were an extensive natural wetland ecosystem , which developed over thousands of years in the Tigris—Euphrates basin and once covered 15—20, square kilometers. In the s, this ecoregion was put in grave danger during the Iran—Iraq War. After the Gulf War , Iraq's President Saddam Hussein initiated a drainage project on these marshes, leading to degradation of ecosystem services that caused economic and social issues for civilians.

Although they had started to recover after the fall of Ba'athist Iraq in , drought, intensive dam construction and irrigation schemes upstream have caused them to dry up once more. In , 60 percent of the wetlands were destroyed by Hussein's regime — drained to permit military access and greater political control of the native Marsh Arabs.

Canals, dykes and dams were built routing the water of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers around the marshes, instead of allowing water to move slowly through the marshland. After part of the Euphrates was dried up due to re-routing its water to the sea, a dam was built so water could not back up from the Tigris and sustain the former marshland.

Some marshlands were burned and pipes buried underground helped to carry away water for quicker drying. Riparian entities have constructed dams along the Tigris-Euphrates river system as a method of water management in response to droughts. The drying of the marshes led to the disappearance of the salt-tolerant vegetation ; the plankton rich waters that fertilized surrounding soils; 52 native fish species; the wild boar , red fox , buffalo and water birds of the marsh habitat.

Climate change also affects the environmental and social well-being. The issue of water rights became a point of contention for Iraq, Turkey and Syria beginning in the s when Turkey implemented a public-works project the GAP project aimed at harvesting the water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers through the construction of 22 dams, for irrigation and hydroelectric energy purposes.

Although the water dispute between Turkey and Syria was more problematic, the GAP project was also perceived as a threat by Iraq. In , the Joint Technical Committee JTC was established to solve ongoing data controversies between Turkey, Syria, and Iraq but stopped meeting in the early s after only passing two bilateral agreements.

However, the issue had never become as significant as the water dispute between Turkey and Syria. The drought in Iraq sparked new negotiations between Iraq and Turkey over trans-boundary river flows. Although the drought affected Turkey, Syria and Iran as well, Iraq complained regularly about reduced water flows.

Iraq particularly complained about the Euphrates River because of the large number of dams on the river. Turkey agreed to increase the flow several times, beyond its means in order to supply Iraq with extra water. Iraq has seen significant declines in water storage and crop yields because of the drought. To make matters worse, Iraq's water infrastructure has suffered from years of conflict and neglect.

In , Turkey, Iraq and Syria agreed to restart the Joint Trilateral Committee on water for the three nations for better water resources management. Turkey, Iraq and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding on September 3, , in order to strengthen communication within the Tigris—Euphrates Basin and to develop joint water-flow-monitoring stations.

In exchange, Iraq agreed to trade petroleum with Turkey and help curb Kurdish militant activity in their border region. GAP is a massive hydroelectric project, consisting of 21 dams and 19 hydroelectric facilities. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version.

In other projects. Wikiquote Wikivoyage Wikidata item. River system in the Middle East. Geography [ edit ]. History [ edit ]. Ecology [ edit ]. Mesopotamian Marshes [ edit ]. Main article: Mesopotamian Marshes. Ecological threats [ edit ]. Water dispute [ edit ]. In media [ edit ]. See also [ edit ]. References [ edit ].

Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 17 December Accessed 30 June Design and impact of water treaties: Managing climate change. ISBN Archived from the original on Vortex of Conflict: U. Policy Toward Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq. Stanford University Press. Quaternary Research. Bibcode : QuRes.