List of rivers of Azerbaijan

A map of the Caspian Sea drainage basin to which all rivers in Azerbaijan flow to.

The Kur and Aras are the longest rivers of Azerbaijan and their drainage basin covers most of the country.

The Aras River along the Iranian border with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan.

The Rivers in Azerbaijan are fresh water. Azerbaijan has many rivers.

The hydrography of Azerbaijan basically belongs to the Caspian Sea drainage basin to which all rivers in Azerbaijan flow to.

The longest river of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the Kur whose river source is in Turkey and which flows through the Republic of Georgia, before it enters Azerbaijan. There it unites with the second longest river Aras whose river source is also in Turkey, and which is on the country's border with Iran. The major tributaries of the Kur river are the Qanix, Qabirri, Turyan, Agstafa, Shekir, Terter and Khachin rivers. The major tributaries of the Aras river are the Arpachay, Nakhchivan, Okhchu, Hekeri and Kondelenchay rivers. The largest rivers which are not tributaries of the Kur and Aras rivers are the Samur, Gudyal, Velvele, Vilesh and Lenkeran rivers.

Rivers

There are 8,359 rivers of various lengths within Azerbaijan. Of them 8,188 rivers are less than 25 kilometers in length. Only 24 rivers are over 100 kilometers long. The largest rivers that flow through the country are:

• Kur
• Aras
• Qanix, located in Alazan
• Qabirri, also known as Iori in Georgia
• Samur
• Pirsaat
• Tartarchay (tributaries Levchay, Addabanchay, Turagaychay)
• Turyan
• Agstafa
• Hekeri
• Vilesh

River system

The rivers in Azerbaijan can be divided into three groups:

1. The Kur basin rivers (Qanix, Qabirri, Turyan, Agstafa, Shekir, Terter, Khachin, etc.)
2. The Aras basin rivers (Arpachay, Nakhchivan, Okhchu, Hekeri, Kondelenchay, etc.)
3. Rivers, flowing directly into the Caspian Sea (Samur, Gudyal, Velvele, Vilesh, Lenkeran, etc.)

Kur and Aras

The Kur and Aras are the longest rivers in Azerbaijan. The rivers directly flow into the Caspian Sea. They come from the north-eastern slope of the Greater Caucasus and Talysh Mountains and run along the Samur-Devechi and Lenkeran lowlands.

The Kur River drainage basin area (86,000 km²) up to the junction with the Aras River is smaller than the Aras drainage basin (101,937 km²). The river is still called Kur on the junction because the water level of the Kura is twice as high as that of the Aras River.