The Tartar ( az, Tərtərçay, hy, Թարթառ) is one of the

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 ...

of the Kura 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 th ...

. It passes through the districts of

Kalbajar Kalbajar ( az, Kəlbəcər , ) is a city and the capital of the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan. Located on the Tartar river valley, it is away from the capital Baku. The city had a population of 7,246 before its capture by Armenian forces on ...

, Barda and Tartar. Parts of the river flows through the self-proclaimed

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a list of states with limited recognition, breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan ...

Martakert Province Martakert Province ( hy, Մարտակերտ) is a province of the Republic of Artsakh, ''de jure'' part of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The population is mainly Armenian. The province has 43 communities of which one is considered urban and 42 a ...

Overview

Tartar is the left tributary of Kura, the largest river in the Caucasus. The river originates in the area where Qonqur, Alaköz and Mıxtökən mountain ranges meet on

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 ...

in the vicinity of hot springs village of Istisu located de jure in Kalbajar Rayon of Azerbaijan and de facto in the

of the

. The altitude where the river originates from mountain springs is above sea level. The river flows eastward through the whole Kalbajar rayon (de facto

) passing through

city, Tartar and Barda

raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is co ...

s passing through Tartar and Barda cities before discharging into Kura. The river has two left tributaries:

Levçay The Levçay is one of the tributaries of the Tartarchay in western Azerbaijan. Overview Levçay is a left tributary of Tartarchay, a long river flowing from mountains in central Kalbajar District into Tartarchay. The latter proceeds west through ...

() and

Ağdabançay Ağdabançay is one of the tributaries of the Tartarchay located in Karabakh region of Republic of Azerbaijan. Overview Ağdabançay is the left tributary of Tartarchay, a long river flowing from an altitude of in central Kalbajar District into ...

(), and one right tributary Turağayçay (). Sarsang reservoir was built on Tartar river in 1976 for electricity and irrigation purposes.

Statistical information

The river is long, and has a drainage basin of .Тертер

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...

Tartarchay is considered one of the water-rich tributaries of Kura within Azerbaijani territory. The water volumes are sourced from rainfall (14%), snow (28%) and underground waters (58%). During spring and summer months, the snow melting in the mountains causes floods making up 65–70% of the annual water flow. In August and September, the water levels decrease. From October until November, the rainfall increases the water levels again. The average annual discharge of the river is . Average annual flow is 693.8 million m³. The average mineralization of the river is 300–500 mg/L with hydrocarbons and calcium.

Water uses

What was once the famous resort village of Istisu ( in Azerbaijani), which was occupied and ruined following the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, is located on the lower part of the river. The resort contains both natural drinking mineral water and hot water spring for bathing. Sarsang Hydro Power Plant with capacity of 50 megawatt is operated at the Sarsang reservoir of the river and is the main source of electric energy for the

(40–60%).

References

{{Rivers and lakes in Azerbaijan Rivers of Azerbaijan Tartar District Kalbajar District Barda District Rivers of the Republic of Artsakh Martakert Province

Overview

Statistical information

Water uses

See also

References