The Chorokh () ( Ch'orokhi 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 Turkey-Georgia border.
In Arrian's Periplus Ponti Euxini, it is called the Acampsis (); Pliny may have confused it with the Bathys.William Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman geography, 1:216 (1854). 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.Procopius, History of the Wars, §8.2
In English, it was formerly known as the Boas, the Churuk, or the Chorokh.Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition 2:757dW. Rickmer Rickmers, "Lazistan and Ajaristan", The Geographical Journal 84:6 (Dec., 1934), p. 466. at JSTOR
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.WWF Global 200 RegionsConservation International Biodiversity Hotspots The Çoruh Valley is recognised by Turkish conservation organisations as an important plant area,Ozhatay N, Byfield A & Atay S 2005, 122 Important Plant Areas of Turkey, for WWF Turkey, Istanbul, Turkey. an important bird area,Magnin G & Yarar M 1989, Important Bird Area in Turkey, Dogal Hayati Koruma Dernegi, Turkey. a key biodiversity areaEken G, Bozdogan M, I˙sfendiyaroglu S, Kılıç DT & Lise Y, (editörler) 2006, Key biodiversity areas in Turkey, Doga Dernegi, Ankara, Turkey. 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.
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. It attracts kayakers and rafters from all over the world and was the site of the 4th World Rafting Championship in 1993 and the Coruh Extreme kayak competition in 2005.
Dams A total of 17 large hydroelectric dams are planned as part of the Çoruh River Development PlanENCON 2006, ‘Yusufeli Dam and Hydroelectric Power Project Environmental Impact Assessment’, Ankara, Turkey. 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.
DamPhase 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
See also
Friends of the Earth
References