Shatt al-Arab

Shatt al-Arab

River, southeastern Iraq, formed by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It flows southeastward for 120 mi (193 km) and passes the Iraqi port of Al-Basrah and the Iranian port of Abadan before emptying into the Persian Gulf. With dredging, the river is navigable by shallow-draft oceangoing vessels. For about the last half of its course, the river forms the border between Iraq and Iran. In the 1980s it was the scene of prolonged fighting during the Iran-Iraq War.

---

Shatt al-Arab 

a river in the Mesopotamian Lowland.

The Shatt al-Arab is 195 km long and drains an area of more than 1 million sq km. Formed near the city of al-Qurnah by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, it forms a delta before emptying into the Persian Gulf. The channel of the river is between 700 and 1,000 m wide and from 7 to 20 m deep. The Karun River is a left tributary of the Shatt al-Arab.

High water on the Shatt al-Arab occurs in the spring; the water level is low in the autumn. The mean flow rate generally ranges from 1,000–2,000 cu m per sec to 6,000–8,000 cu m per sec; in particularly wet years it may reach 10,000–12,000 cu m per sec. The river is navigable; oceangoing vessels can sail as far as Basra. The cities of Basra (Iraq) and Abadan (Iran) are situated on the Shatt al-Arab.