Panj (river)

Panj
The Panj river forms much of the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan
Location
Countries	Afghanistan and Tajikistan
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	confluence of Pamir and Wakhan Rivers
Mouth	Amu Darya
• coordinates	37°06′39″N 68°18′53″E / 37.11083°N 68.31472°E / 37.11083; 68.31472
Length	921 km (572 mi)
Basin size	114,000 km2 (44,016 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	1,000 m3/s (35,315 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Progression	Amu Darya→ Aral Sea
Ramsar Wetland
Official name	Lower part of Pyandj River
Designated	18 July 2001
Reference no.	1084[1]

The Panj (Russian: Пяндж; Persian: رودخانه پنج; "River Five") (⫽ˈpɑːndʒ⫽; Tajik: Панҷ, پنج; "Five"), traditionally known as the Ochus River and also known as Pyandzh (derived from its Slavic word ("Pyandz"), is a river in Afghanistan and Tajikistan and is a tributary of the Amu Darya. The river is 921 kilometres (572 mi) long and has a basin area of 114,000 square kilometres (44,000 sq mi).^[2] It forms a considerable part of the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border.^[3]

The river is formed by the confluence of the Pamir River and the Wakhan River near the village of Qalʿa-ye Panja (Qalʽeh-ye Panjeh). From there, it flows westwards, marking part of the border of Afghanistan and Tajikistan. After passing the city of Khorugh, capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan it receives water from one of its main tributaries, the Bartang River. It then turns towards the southwest, before joining the river Vakhsh and forming the greatest river of Central Asia, the Amu Darya. The Panj played an important role during Soviet times, and was a strategic river during the Soviet military operations in Afghanistan in the 1980s.