Konche Darya

river in western China. Flowing out of Lake Baghrash Kol, it cuts through the eastern spurs of the Tien-Shan and then flows along the northeastern edge of the Kashgarian Plain. Length, 550 km; basin area, 184,400 sq km (including the drainage basin of Baghrash Kol). The rate of flow remains even throughout the year, averaging 36 cu m per sec at the point where the river flows out of the mountains. On the plain the river has formed a complex system of intertwining channels. In this area it often changes its direction. In years when the Konche Darya flows into Lop Nor, that lake fills with water, but when all of the river’s water goes to the Tarim River, the lake dries up.