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Çoruh
Chorokh, Ch'orokhi, Acampsis
Çoruh; Chorokh, Ch'orokhi, Acampsis
Location
Countries	Turkey and Georgia
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Mescit Mountains
Mouth	Black Sea
• coordinates	41°36′17″N 41°34′27″E / 41.6047°N 41.5742°E
Length	438 km (272 mi)
Basin size	22,100 km2 (8,500 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	278 m3/s (9,800 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
• right	Machakhelistsqali, Acharistsqali

The Chorokh (Georgian: ჭოროხი Ch'orokhi, Turkish: Çoruh, Armenian: Ճորոխ Chorokh, Azerbaijani: Çorox, Greek: Άκαμψις, Akampsis) is a river that rises in the Mescit Mountains in north-eastern Turkey, flows through the cities of Bayburt, İspir, Yusufeli, and Artvin, along the Kelkit-Çoruh Fault, before flowing into Georgia, where it reaches the Black Sea just south of Batumi and a few kilometers north of the Turkish-Georgian border.

In Arrian's Periplus Ponti Euxini, it is called the Acampsis (Greek: Άκαμψις); Pliny may have confused it with the Bathys.^[2] Procopius writes that it was called Acampsis because it was impossible to force a way through it after it has entered the sea, since it discharges its stream with such force and swiftness, causing a great disturbance of the water before it, that it goes out for a very great distance into the sea and makes it impossible to coast along at that point.^[3]

In English, it was formerly known as the Boas, the Churuk, or the Chorokh.^[4]^[5]

Biodiversity

The Ch'orokhi valley lies within the Caucasus ecological zone, which is considered by the World Wide Fund for Nature and by Conservation International as a biodiversity hotspot.^[6]^[7] The Çoruh Valley is recognised by Turkish conservation organisations as an important plant area,^[8] an important bird area,^[9] a key biodiversity area^[10] and has been nominated as a high priority area for protection. This valley is rich in plants and contains 104 nationally threatened plant species of which 67 are endemic to Turkey.^[8]

Recreation

The Çoruh has been called "an eco-tourism gem" and "Turkey's last remaining wild river", and is being promoted for whitewater kayaking by the Eastern Anatolia Tourism Development Project.^[11] It attracts kayakers and rafters from all over the world and was the site of the 4th World Rafting Championship in 1993^[12] and the Coruh Extreme kayak competition in 2005.^[13]

Dams

A total of 17 large hydroelectric dams are planned as part of the Çoruh River Development Plan^[14] but a total of 27 are proposed for the Çoruh River Catchment. Under the Çoruh Development Plan, 8 dams have been completed (Arkun, Artvin, Borçka, Deriner, Güllübağ, Murtli, Tortum and Yusufeli Dams), another 2 are under construction.^[15]

Dam	Phase
Tortum Dam	Operational – Tortum River (Çoruh tributary)
Muratli Dam	Operational
Borçka Dam	Operational
Deriner Dam	Operational
Olur Dam	Planned
Bağlık Dam	Planned – Berta River (Çoruh tributary)
Bayram Dam	Planned – Berta River (Çoruh tributary)
Artvin Dam	Operational
Yusufeli Dam	Operational
Altiparmak Dam	Planned – Barhal River (Çoruh tributary)
Ayvali Dam	Planned – Oltu River (Çoruh tributary)
Olur Dam	Planned – Oltu River (Çoruh tributary)
Arkun Dam	Operational
Aksu Dam	Preliminary construction
Güllübağ Dam	Operational
İspir Dam	Planned
Laleli Dam	Under construction

References

^ UN Economic Commission for Europe, Our waters: joining hands across borders : first assessment of transboundary, p. 150
^ William Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman geography, 1:216 (1854).
^ Procopius, History of the Wars, §8.2
^ Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition 2:757d
^ W. Rickmer Rickmers, "Lazistan and Ajaristan", The Geographical Journal 84:6 (Dec., 1934), p. 466. at JSTOR
^ WWF Global 200 Regions
^ Conservation International Biodiversity Hotspots
^ ^a ^b Ozhatay N, Byfield A & Atay S 2005, 122 Important Plant Areas of Turkey, for WWF Turkey, Istanbul, Turkey.
^ Magnin G & Yarar M 1989, Important Bird Area in Turkey, Dogal Hayati Koruma Dernegi, Turkey.
^ Eken G, Bozdogan M, I˙sfendiyaroglu S, Kılıç DT & Lise Y, (editörler) 2006, Key biodiversity areas in Turkey, Doga Dernegi, Ankara, Turkey.
^ United Nations Development Programme: Europe & CIS, "Eastern Turkey Becomes Tourist Destination" [1]
^ Akkus, Cetin; Akkus, Gulizar (2019-01-17). Selected Studies on Rural Tourism and Development. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 9781527526013.
^ Coruh Extreme Race
^ ENCON 2006, ‘Yusufeli Dam and Hydroelectric Power Project Environmental Impact Assessment’, Ankara, Turkey.
^ "Hydroelectric Power energy Resources" (PDF) (in Turkish). State Hydraulic Works. Retrieved 10 May 2013.