The Yaghnob ( tg, Яғноб) is a river in

Ayni District tg, Ноҳияи Айнӣ , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = Anzob mountains.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Ayni District Landscape , image_flag = , flag_siz ...

Sughd Region Sughd Province ( tg, Вилояти Суғд, Viloyati Sughd, Sogdia Region , fa, ولایت سغد) is one of the four administrative divisions and one of the three provinces ( tg, вилоятҳо, viloyatho , fa, ولایت) that make up ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

. Together with the

Iskander Darya The Iskander Darya (russian: Искандердарья; tg, Искандардарё) is a river in Ayni District of Sughd Region, Tajikistan. The Iskander Darya is long, and the area of its drainage basin is long. It is the left source riv ...

, it forms the

Fan Darya The Fan Darya (russian: Фандарья) is a river in Ayni District of Sughd Region, Tajikistan. The Fan Darya is long (140 km including its source river Yaghnob (river), Yaghnob), and the area of its drainage basin is . It is a major left ...

, a major left tributary of the

Zeravshan Zarafshon ( uz, Zarafshon / Зарафшон, fa, زرافشان) is a city in the center of Uzbekistan's Navoiy Region. Administratively, it is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Muruntau. It has an area of and it ...

. The source of the Yaghnob is in the Matcha Mountains, where the

Zarafshan Zarafshon ( uz, Zarafshon / Зарафшон, fa, زرافشان) is a city in the center of Uzbekistan's Navoiy Region. Administratively, it is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Muruntau. It has an area of and it h ...

and the

Gissar Range Hisar Range ( tg, Қаторкӯҳи Ҳисор; uz, Hisor tizmasi, russian: Гиссарский хребет; uk, Ґаторкугі Гісор; fa, رشته‌کوه حصار; also known as Hissar, Hisor, or Gissar Range) is a mountain range ...

s merge. The Yaghnob is mainly fed by glaciers and snow fields. The river flows from the east to the west, south of and parallel to the upper Zeravshan River, through the

Yaghnob Valley The Yaghnob Valley is a valley in north-west Tajikistan, between the southern slope of the Zarafshan Range and the northern slope of the Gissar Range. The valley is formed by the Yaghnob River and belongs to the Zarafshan basin. It lies between ...

, a remote location populated by the

Yaghnobi people The Yaghnobi people ( Yaghnobi: yaγnōbī́t or suγdī́t; tg, яғнобиҳо, yağnobiho/jaƣnoʙiho) are an Iranian ethnic minority in Tajikistan. They inhabit Tajikistan's Sughd province in the valleys of the Yaghnob, Qul and Varzob ri ...

speaking the

Yaghnobi language Yaghnobi is an Eastern Iranian language spoken in the upper valley of the Yaghnob River in the Zarafshan area of Tajikistan by the Yaghnobi people. It is considered to be a direct descendant of Sogdian and has sometimes been called Neo-Sogdia ...

. The main village in the valley is

Anzob Anzob ( Tajik: Анзоб) is a village and jamoat in north-west Tajikistan. It is located in Ayni District in Sughd Region, in the Zarafshan Range, about north of Dushanbe. The jamoat has a total population of 8,238 (2015).

. It joins the east-flowing Iskander Darya to form the Fan Darya which flows north to join the Zeravshan at

Ayni Ayni (Quechua and Aymara also spelled ''Ayniy'' or ''Aini'') can refer to either the concept of reciprocity or mutualism among people of the Andean mountain communities or the practice of this concept. As a noun, the law of ayni states that everyt ...

. The main road north from Dushanbe follows the lower Yaghnob and the Fan Darya. Before the Soviets blasted a road through, the upper valley was protected by an almost impenetrable gorge, which accounts for the historical isolation of its population.

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Tajikistan Yaghnob