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Tigris
Arabic: dijla
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Photo: Cordaiy Photo Library Ltd./Corbis
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River of Turkey, Syria and Iraq. Its length is 1,850 km, and it has two principal sources, Lake Hazer and Lake Van, both in Anatolia in Turkey. These two streams joins at Til in Turkey. Tributaries include Great Zab, Little Zab, Diyala, and Adhaim.
Along its course, the Tigris passes through some of the major cities of Iraq, like Mosul, Tikrit, Samarra, and the capital Baghdad. At Qurna, Tigris joins with the Euphrates, and for the remaining 170 km to the outlet at the Persian Gulf, it is known as Shatt al-Arab.
At Samarra a barrage is constructed, in order to improve the control of the floods that can occur between March and May, when snow melts in the mountains. This barrage was also constructed to provide better irrigation, but there have been few agricultural achievements. The barrage has reduced the amount of silt carried with the water, an advantage for sailing on the river, as it is shallow, but its negative effect is that it has reduced the quality of the soil of the region.
The Tigris has been an important river up through history, and was one of the main sources for the ancient Mesopotamian civilizations.
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