The Qarqarçay () or Karkar ( hy, Կարկառ) is a river located in
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
, in the
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
of the
Kura. Parts of the river flow through the breakaway
Republic of Artsakh
Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Artsakh controls a part of the former ...
. Its length is , the area of the basin is .
[''Azerbaijan Soviet Encyclopedia'' (1979), vol. 3, p. 70] The river begins on the
Karabakh Plateau
The Karabakh Plateau or Syunik Plateau ( hy, Սյունիքի բարձրավանդակ, translit=Syuniki bardzravandak, az, Qarabağ yaylası) is a volcanic plateau of the Lesser Caucasus, in Armenia and Azerbaijan, in the most eastern point of ...
at the altitude of and is formed by the confluence of the rivers Zarysly and Khalfali.
The main
tributaries
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...
are Ballyja, Badara and Daghdaghan. The Qarqar is fed by the rain, snow and underground waters.
The
Askeran fortress is situated on the banks of the Qarqar.
Hydronym
''Qarqarçay'', romanized as ''Gargarchay'', consists of the name ''Gargar'' and the
Turkic suffix ''-chay'' ( az, -çay), meaning "river".
German scientist
Heinrich Hübschmann
Johann Heinrich Hübschmann (1 July 1848 – 20 January 1908) was a German philologist.
Life
Hübschmann was born on 1 July 1848 at Erfurt. He studied Oriental philology at Jena, Tübingen, Leipzig, and Munich; in 1876 he became professor of Ira ...
explains that ''Karkar'' ( hy, Կարկառ) is etymologized from
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
– meaning “heap of stones”.
Gallery
File:Řeka Karkar, Náhorní Karabach.jpg, Qarqar river
File:Vodopád, Náhorní Karabach.jpg, "Zontik" (Umbrella) natural monument
See also
*
Rivers and lakes in Azerbaijan
The water bodies of Azerbaijan were formed over a long geological timeframe and changed significantly throughout that period. This is particularly evidenced by remnants of ancient rivers found throughout the country. The country's water systems ar ...
*
Tartarchay
The Tartar ( az, Tərtərçay, hy, Թարթառ) is one of the tributaries of the Kura located in Azerbaijan. It passes through the districts of Kalbajar, Barda and Tartar. Parts of the river flows through the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh' ...
References
Rivers of Azerbaijan
Rivers of the Republic of Artsakh
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