The AlwandorHalwan (Arabic: نهر حلوان, Kurdish: Çemê Elwen ,ڕووباری ئەڵوەن, Persian: رود الوند) is a river in eastern Iraq and western Iran. It rises in the Zagros Mountains in Iran.[1]
The river flows west from the mountains to the city of Qasr-e Shirin, where it turns south and crosses the border with Iraq. It then divides the city of Khanaqin in two parts. It has played a significant role in land cultivation and in establishment of a strong rural society in the area, and is considered by the people of Khanaqin a symbol for their unity and Kurdish identity.
The river joins the Diyala River at Zengabadh.[1][2]
According to Vladimir Minorsky, the name "Alwand" is related to the name of the historical city of Hulwan, which lay on the river near the present-day city of Sarpol-e Zahab.[3]: 80
The Alwand basin is located on the western side of the Zagros and covers an area of about 2,700 km2.[2]: 787–8 The climate of this region is semiarid to Mediterranean, with cool winters and dry summers.[2]: 788 It receives an average of about 530 mm of rainfall per year.[2]: 788 The region is characterized by karst terrain, and there are about 35 karst springs in the Alwand basin (12 major and 23 minor).[2]: 789
The Alwand basin features seven main anticlines, which are separated from each other by synclines.[2]: 789 About 36% of the basin is made up of carbonate formations, primarily the Asmari Formation.[2]: 789 The Asmari Formation, which makes up the main body of the anticlines, consists of Tertiary dolomitic limestone and dolomite.[2]: 789 Above it lie layers of the marl-and-sandstone Aghajari Formation or the gypsum-and-marl Gachasaran Formation.[2]: 789 Below it is the Cretaceous Pabdeh-Gurpi Formation, which consists of marl and shale.[2]: 789 Another carbonate formation, the Cretaceous Ilam Formation, is made of limestone and is only exposed in the Patagh anticline.[2]: 789 The Asmari Formation, confined beneath the impermeable Aghajari and Gachasaran Formations, is the main aquifer in the Alwand basin.[2]: 789
34°32′7″N 45°59′39″E / 34.53528°N 45.99417°E / 34.53528; 45.99417
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