Kunduz River

The Kunduz River is a tributary of the Amu Darya in northern Afghanistan. It rises in the Hindu Kush, and in its upper reaches is known as the Surkhab River.

Course

The Kunduz rises in the glacier region on the north side of the Koh-i-Baba range in Bamiyan Province, some 20 km south west of the town of Bamiyan, where the river is known as the Bamiyan River. It flows east in a deep valley separating the western part of the Hindu Kush on the north from the Koh-i-Baba on the south. After about 50 km it bends sharp north, crossing the Hindu Kush range. It then turns east-north-east and enters Baghlan Province. There the river is known as the Surkhab.

It then parallels a northern spur of the Hindu Kush for more than 80 km, receiving many small tributaries on its right bank.

At the town of Doshi it receives the Andarab, a large tributary flowing from the east. It then flows north towards the Amu Darya, crossing Baghlan and Kunduz Provinces.

At Yakala-ye Zad, 30 km past the city of Kunduz, the river meets its largest tributary, the Khanabad River, shortly before discharging into the Amu Darya.

Kunduz

Kunduz (/kʊnduːz/ Pashto: کندز‎; Persian: قندوز‎‎) is a city in northern Afghanistan, which serves as the capital of Kunduz Province. It is sometimes spelled as Kundûz, Qonduz, Qondûz, Konduz, Kondûz, Kondoz, or Qhunduz.

The city of Kunduz has a population of about 268,893, while Kunduz District has a population of 304,600. It is about the 5th largest city of Afghanistan.

Kunduz is located in the historical Tokharistan in the region of Bactria. It is linked by highways with Mazar-e Sharif to the west, Kabul to the south and Sher Khan Bandar to the north. Kunduz is at an elevation of 391 metres (1,283 ft) above sea level.

The land use of the city (within the municipal boundary) is largely agricultural (65.8% of total area). Residential land comprises nearly half of the 'built-up' land area (48.3%) with 29,877 dwellings. Institutional land comprises 17.9% of built-up land use, given that the airport is located within the municipal boundary

Etymology

The name of the city is derived from Persian compound, kuhan/quhan diz, "old/ancient fort" or from Turkic konak/konut ("residence, palace, court, housing, established dwelling area, city, town, village"), from Proto-Turkic *kon-, "to settle down/to perch." Alternative derivations also include Turkic kündüz ("day, daylight"), from Proto-Turkic kün, "day/sun".