Yarkand River

Yarkand River
Yarkand River
Yarkand River is located in Southern Xinjiang
Yarkand River
Location
CountryChina
ProvinceXinjiang
Physical characteristics
SourceNorth Siachen Muztagh, Karakoram range at an Altitude of 7,462 m (24,482 ft)
 • coordinates35°32′53″N 77°28′58″E / 35.547983°N 77.482907°E / 35.547983; 77.482907
2nd sourceEast Siachen Muztagh, North Rimo Glacier
 • coordinates35°29′17″N 77°26′52″E / 35.488°N 77.4479°E / 35.488; 77.4479
3rd sourceKarakoram_Pass
 • coordinates35°30′48″N 77°49′22″E / 35.51346°N 77.8227°E / 35.51346; 77.8227
 • elevation5539
Mouth 
 • location
Tarim River or Neinejoung River
 • coordinates
38°25′00″N 77°21′36″E / 38.416667°N 77.36°E / 38.416667; 77.36
Length1,332.25 km (827.82 mi)
Basin size98,900 km2 (38,200 sq mi)
Discharge 
 • average210 m3/s (7,400 cu ft/s)
Basin features
ProgressionTarimTaitema Lake
LandmarksYarkand
Tributaries 
 • leftShaksgam, Tashkurgan, Kashgar
 • rightAktagh River [zh]
WaterbodiesAltash Water Conservancy Project (Midstream Reservoir)
Yarkand River
Uyghur name
Uyghurيەكەن دەرياسى
Transcriptions
Latin YëziqiYeken deryasi
Yengi YeziⱪYəkən dəryasi
Siril YëziqiЙəкəн дәряси
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese葉爾羌河
Simplified Chinese叶尔羌河
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinYè'ěrqiāng Hé
Wade–GilesYeh4-erh3-ch'iang1 He2
IPA[jêàɚtɕʰjáŋ xɤ̌]

The Yarkand River (or Yarkent River, Yeh-erh-ch'iang Ho) is a river in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of western China. It originates in the Siachen Muztagh in a part of the Karakoram range and flows into the Tarim River or Neinejoung River, with which it is sometimes identified.[clarification needed] However, in modern times, the Yarkand river drains into the Midstream Reservoir and exhausts its supply without reaching the Tarim river. The Yarkand River is approximately 1,332.25 km (827.82 mi) in length, with an average discharge of 210 m3/s (7,400 cu ft/s).

A part of the river valley is known to the Kyrgyz people as Raskam Valley, and the upper course of the river itself is called the Raskam River.[1] Another name of the river is Zarafshan.[2] The area was once claimed by the ruler of Hunza.

  1. ^ S.R. Bakshi, Kashmir through Ages ISBN 81-85431-71-X vol 1 p.22, in Google Books
  2. ^ NGIA GeoNames search