The Kārun (also spelled as Karoun) is Iran's most effluent, and the only navigable, river. It is 450 miles (720 km) long. It rises in the Zard Kuh mountains of the Bakhtiari district in the Zagros Range, receiving many tributaries, such as the Dez and the Kuhrang, before passing through the capital of the Khuzestan Province of Iran, the city of Ahwaz.
The Karun continues toward the Persian Gulf, forking into two primary branches on its delta: the Bahmanshir and the Haffar that joins the Shatt al-Arab (Arvand Rud in Persian), emptying into the Persian Gulf. The important Island of Abadan is located between these two branches of the Karun. The port city of Khorramshahr is divided from the Island of Abadan by the Haffar branch.
In the Biblical tradition, Karun is to be identified with Pishon, one of the four rivers of Eden/Paradise. The others being Tigris, Euphrates and the Karkheh ("Gihon" of the Biblical story). In the early classical times, Karun was known as the Pasitigris, which may be pointing etymologically to the source of the Biblical name, Pishon. The modern medieval and modern name, Karun, is a corruption of the name, Kuhrang which is still maintained by one of the two primary tributaries of the Karun.
Much of Khuzestan's transport and resources are connected in one way or another to the Karun. Since the British first discovered oil at Masjed-Soleyman, the Karun has been an important route for the transport of petroleum to the Persian Gulf, and remains an important commercial waterway. Water from the Karun provides irrigation to over of the surrounding plain and a further are planned to receive water.
In two of several competing theories about the origins and location of the Garden of Eden the Karun is presumed to be the Gihon River that is described in the Biblical book of Genesis. The strongest of these theories propounded by archaeologist Juris Zarins places the Garden of Eden at the northern tip of the Persian Gulf, fed by the four rivers Tigris, Euphrates, Gihon Karun and Pishon (Wadi Al-Batin).
The name of the river is derived from the mountain peak, Kuhrang, that serves as its source.
Famous silent film documentary Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life (1925) tells the story of Bakhtiari tribe crossing this river with 50,000 people and 500,000 animals.
It was here during the Iran–Iraq War that the Iranians stopped the early Iraqi advance. With its limited military stocks, Iran unveiled its "human wave" assaults which used thousands of Basij (Popular Mobilization Army or People's Army) volunteers.
In September 2009, three districts of Basra province in southern Iraq were declared disaster areas as a result of Iran's construction of new dams on the Karun. The new dams resulted in high levels of salinity in the Shatt Al-Arab, which destroyed farm areas and threatened livestock. Civilians in the area were forced to evacuate.
Category:Khuzestan Province Category:Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province Category:Rivers of Iran Category:Shatt al-Arab basin
ar:كارون ca:Riu Karun cs:Karún cy:Afon Karun de:Karun es:Río Karún eo:Karun fa:کارون fr:Karoun it:Karun ka:ქარუნი lt:Karūnas ja:カールーン川 nl:Karoen no:Karun (elv) pl:Karun (rzeka) pt:Rio Karun ru:Карун sr:Карун fi:Karun sv:Karun tg:Дарёи Карун tr:Karun uk:Карун
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