Amu Darya

The Amu Darya, in ancient times Oxus, is a river in western Central Asia. The length was formerly 1415 km. In medieval texts this river was called Jeyhun in all Arabic, Persian and Turkish, derived from Gihon, one of the four rivers of the Garden of Eden. It is a contested border river between Iran and Turan in Iranian mythology. The term Amu Darya, which is also used in today's Persian language.

The Amu Darya arises on the border of Afghanistan and Tajikistan from the union of its source rivers Panj and Vakhsh and drains through the lowlands of Turan towards the Aral-Caspian lowlands. The confluence is in an extensive valley.

The Amu Darya Central (Central) River is the largest and most famous river in Asia, with the most abundant water part - the middle stream and part of the lower reaches flowing through the territory of Turkmenistan.

The Amy Darya, irrigated by the Pamir-Alai mountain range, ascends to the plains west of the Koytendag ridge, traversing the steppes of the Turan lowlands and used to reach the Aral Sea. The West Uzboy River, which flowed through the Karakum Desert in the past and is now preserved in the Karakum Desert, carried its water to the Caspian Sea.

The high water level of the Amu Darya - the flooding of the river occurs twice a year: in March-April, that is, due to the melting of snow in the mountains and precipitation, and in June-July, that is, due to the high melting of high mountain glaciers. The water in the river is very turbulent and the amount of threshing in it is high.

Lebap province of the country is located in the middle of the river. Its name is derived from the words “leb” - shore and “ab” water and means “water shore”.

The ichthyofauna of the Bolshoi River has its own characteristics. Large and small Amu Darya pilburuns, which are considered endemic to the Amu Darya, are included in the Red Data Book of Turkmenistan and the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Because these species are not found anywhere else in the world. They belong to more ancient fish, have no coins, and are covered with a bone-covered body. It must have been so named because Pilburun's skeletal head looked like natural digging tool ‘pil’. Fish also include lacquer, lover, tuna, white squid, short-tailed squid, and sturgeon. The last two species are included in the Red Data Book of Turkmenistan.