Karasu (Euphrates)
{{Short description|Tributary of Euphrates in Turkey}}
{{About|the major tributary of the Euphrates|rivers with similar names|Karasu (disambiguation)}}
The Karasu (Turkish for 'black water') or Western Euphrates is a long river in eastern Turkey, one of the two sources of the Euphrates. It has a length of about 450 km. To the ancient Greeks the river was known as the {{Transliteration|grc|Telebóas}} ({{lang|grc|Τηλεβόας}}).
Course
The river begins at the Dumlu Dağ in Erzurum Province,{{cite EB1911|wstitle= Euphrates |volume= 09 |last1= Rawlinson |first1= Henry Creswicke |last2= Wilson |first2= Charles William |last3= Peters |first3= John Punnett | pages = 894–898 |quote= }} and drains the plains around the city of Erzurum. It is joined by the Serçeme River, then flows west through Erzincan Province, turning south, then west and receiving the tributary Tuzla Su. Between Erzincan and Kemah it is joined by the Gönye River and passes through a rocky gorge. Near the small town of Kemaliye it receives its last tributary, the Çaltı Çayı, before turning sharply southeast to flow through a deep canyon into the Keban Dam Lake on the Euphrates. Before construction of the Keban Dam the Karasu joined the Murat River 10 km above the dam site and 13 km above the town of Keban.{{cite news
|title = SOCCER ON FROZEN RIVER
|publisher = Turkish Daily News
|date = December 31, 2004
}}
History
It is thought likely that the river Harpasos mentioned by Xenophon in Anabasis 7.18 is the Kara Su,{{cite book
|title = OCR Anthology for Classical Greek
|page = 202
|publisher = Bloomsbury
|date = 2018}} or the headwaters of the river Çoruh.{{ cite book
|title= The Persian Expedition
|author = Xenophon, Rex Warner
|publisher = Penguin Classics
|page = 210
|date = 1972}}
In 1996, 15 Turkish soldiers were killed when their personnel carrier fell into the river during a routine crossing.{{cite news
|title = Turkish personnel carrier falls into river
|publisher = Xinhua News Agency
|date = April 22, 1996
}}
When temperatures in Turkey dropped below -25 °C in 2005 the river froze over and was used as a football pitch by locals.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{coord|38.8747|N|38.7939|E|source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:TR|display=title}}
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Category:Landforms of Erzurum Province