Balkh (river)

It originates in the central part of Afghanistan on the slopes of the Bab ridge ( Hindu Kush system). Not far from where the source is formed, it forms lakes bearing the same name as the river. Water from the lakes located in a chain, overthrown by a waterfall. Before the turn to the northeast, the valley of the river near the village of Dakhani-Kashan is inhabited and well irrigated. The slopes of the mountains in this part are covered with rare forests and shrubs. Downstream to the exit of the river from the mountains near the village of Mirkasim , the river valley is mostly narrow, as it is limited by the high and steep slopes of the mountains. Vegetation in this place is missing. Small expansions of the river valley, where the villages are located, are rare. Above the village of Buynakary, the valley has a width of 2 to 4 km over a length of 25 km. Flowing through the narrow valley again, the river begins after the village of Kafnandara, and 12 km from the river's exit from the mountains, the valley passes into a gorge. In some places, the deeply embedded riverbed has a width of 4-6 m. The valley gradually expands below the gorge, where the river flows in a recessed channel. Islands in the riverbed are extremely rare. At the village Mirkasim after leaving the mountains, the river is dismantled for irrigation. The main river bed passes near the town of Akcha, heading north-west and under the name of Afgandarya is lost in the sands before reaching the Amu Darya . The area of ​​irrigated land in the Balkh basin reaches 45,000 hectares ^{[3] [1]} .

The type of power of the river Balkh is snow-glacial. The weighted average height of the river catchment is 2390–2230 m, of which 24–25.8% is more than 3000 m, which is half as much as in the catchment area of ​​the Kokcha River and 30–40% less than the catchment area of ​​the Kunduz River. In terms of the average height of the catchment area, Balkh is comparable to the Khanaka River. Balkh is distinguished by high intra-annual flow regulation, although it is inferior to the Murgab River at the Tahtabazar and in the Sein-Ali village. The coefficient of intra-annual non-uniformity of runoff is 0.23, and the average monthly volumes of runoff do not fall below 5-6% of the annual.

The flood of the river is clearly expressed. It begins in April and ends in July — August. The highest expenses depend on the height of the catchment and are most often observed in May, with the exception of 1965, when the month with the highest consumption was July. Small fluctuations in costs are observed in the period from August to January. Exceeding the maximum costs are mainly formed by melt water in a compartment with rain peaks beginners in February

Formation of very maximum costs on the Balkh River is observed when the most intensive snow feeding coincides with the period of the most intensive rains. The maximum value of the flow rate formed mainly due to the meltwater was 154 m³ / s (May 20, 1964). The maximum value of the flow rate formed mainly due to the rain was 700 m³ / s. Minimum costs are observed before the flood or immediately after it ^[3] .

The average turbidity of the Balkh river water is 2.21 kg / m³, that is, comparable to the Kokcha river. The average consumption of suspended sediments is 118 kg / s, the annual flow of 3.7 million tons. The removal of suspended sediments from 1 km² of the river catchment is 198 tons (observation periods are April 1964, May 1965) ^[3] .

• V.L. Schultz. Rivers of Afghanistan / Yu. N. Ivanov. - M .: Goskomizdat, 1968. - 175 p. - 500 copies