The Kunduz River ( ps, د کندز سیند; fa, رود قندوز) is a tributary of the

Amu Darya The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin language, Latin name or Greek ) is a major rive ...

in northern

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. It rises in

Bamyan Province Bamyan Province ( prs, ولایت بامیان) also spelled Bamiyan, Bāmīān or Bāmyān is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the central highlands of the Afghanistan. The terrain in Bamyan is mountainous or semi-m ...

in the

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Provinc ...

, and in its upper reaches is also known as the Bamyan River or the Surkhab River. After passing through Baghlan Province and

Kunduz Province Qunduz (Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northern part of the country next to Tajikistan. The population of the province is around 1,136,677, which is mostly a tribal society; it is one of Afghanistan's most ethni ...

, the Kunduz River merges into the Amu Darya.

Course

The Kunduz rises in the glacier region on the north side of the

Koh-i-Baba The Baba Mountain range ( ps, بابا غر Bâbâ Ǧar; fa, کوه بابا Kōh-i Bābā; or Kūh-e Bābā; ''Kōh'' or ''Kūh'' meaning ′mountain′, ''Bābā'' meaning ′father′) is the western extension of the Hindu Kush, and the ori ...

range in

, some 20 km south west of the town of

Bamyan Bamyan or Bamyan Valley (); ( prs, بامیان) also spelled Bamiyan or Bamian is the capital of Bamyan Province in central Afghanistan. Its population of approximately 70,000 people makes it the largest city in Hazarajat. Bamyan is at an al ...

, where the river is known as the Bamyan River. It flows east in a deep valley separating the western part of the Hindu Kush on the north from the Koh-i-Baba on the south. After about 50 km, it bends sharp north, crossing the Hindu Kush range. It then turns northeast and enters Baghlan Province. There the river is known as the Surkhab. It then parallels a northern spur of the Hindu Kush for more than 80 km, receiving many small tributaries on its right bank. At the town of Doshi it receives the

Andarab Andarab is the name of a large stream in Afghanistan and of the valley it empties into. The stream which originates in the Hindu Kush, near Khawak Pass, and flows to the west for about 75 miles before merging into the Surkhab. Andarab valley ...

, a large tributary flowing from the east. After passing through the cities of

Puli Khumri Puli Khumrī (Dari: ), also spelled Pul-i-Khumri or Pol-e Khomri, is a city in northern Afghanistan. Puli Khumri is the capital and largest city of Baghlan Province, whose name comes from the other major town in the province, Baghlan. The city h ...

and

Baghlan Baghlan (Dari: بغلان ''Baġlān'') is a city in northern Afghanistan, in the eponymous province, Baghlan Province. It is located three miles east of the Kunduz River, 35 miles south of Khanabad, and about 500 metres above sea level in the ...

, it enters

. At Yakala-ye Zad, 30 km past the city of

Kunduz , native_name_lang = prs , other_name = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Kunduz River valley.jpg , imagesize = 300 , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_ ...

, the river meets its largest tributary, the

Khanabad River The Khānabād River ( ps, د خان اباد سیند; fa, رود خان‌آباد) flows in the provinces of Takhar and Kunduz in northern Afghanistan. The Khanabad River is a tributary of the Kunduz River, which is in turn a tributary of the ...

, shortly before discharging into the Amu Darya.

Basin

The basin of the Kunduz River covers almost all the province of Baghlan, the eastern part of Bamyan Province and two-thirds of

Takhar Takhar or Taahkarr (in Serer and Cangin) is a demi-god in the Serer religion worshipped by many Serers (an ethnic group found in Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania). "Folk-Lore In The old Testament. Studies In Comparative Religion Legend and L ...

and Kunduz Provinces. Its area is estimated at 31,300 square kilometers.

Flow rates

Flow rates of the river were observed for 15 years (1950-1965) at

, where the river reaches the Amu Darya plain.UNESCO - Kunduz Basin - Station : Pol-e Khomri
At Puli Khumri, the annual mean flow was 67.6 m³ per second, from a basin of 17,250 square kilometres.

References

{{coord, 37, 00, 15, N, 68, 15, 54, E, region:AF_type:river_source:kolossus-ruwiki, display=title Rivers of Afghanistan Landforms of Kunduz Province Landforms of Bamyan Province Landforms of Baghlan Province