Kafirnigan

a river in the Tadzhik SSR; a right tributary of the Amu Darya. Length, 387 km. Basin area, 11,600 sq km. It rises in two branches from the southern slopes (partly from glaciers) of the Gissar Range and flows through the Gissar valley. The river is fed primarily by snow. The average annual discharge at the mouth is 156 cu m per sec. The average annual turbidity is more than 1,500 per cu m (in the lower reaches). The tributaries of the Kafirnigan are the Varzob and Khanaka from the right and the Iliak from the left. Its waters are used for irrigation. In the river’s lower reaches the banks are covered with reeds and tugai forests. The city of Ordzhonikidzeabad is located on the river.