Sulak

an urban-type settlement in the Dagestan ASSR, under the jurisdiction of the Soviet raion council of the city of Makhachkala. Sulak is situated on the left bank of the Sulak River, near the point where it empties into the Caspian Sea, 35 km north of Makhachkala. The settlement has a fish-processing combine.

a river in the Dagestan ASSR. The Sulak measures 144 km in length and drains an area of 15,200 sq km. It originates at the confluence of the Avar Koisu and Andi Koisu rivers, which rise in the Greater Caucasus. It flows first through the Main Sulak Canyon (depth, 700–1,500 m) and then through the Akhetlin Gorge, the Chirkei Plain, and the Lesser Sulak Canyon. From the mountains it flows through a broad, terraced valley, and in the lowlands it divides into branches. The banks have plavni (floodplains covered with reeds and other vegetation). The Sulak empties into the Caspian Sea, forming a delta. The river is fed mainly by snow. High water occurs from April to September, with maximum levels in June and July. The mean flow rate 123 km from the mouth is 176 cu m per sec. The average turbidity is 450 g per cu m, and the maximum turbidity is 45,000 g per cu m. The city of Kizil”iurt and the Chir” iurt and Chirkei hydroelectric power plants are situated on the Sulak. The river is used for irrigation. Mains from the Sulak supply water to the cities of Makhachkala and Kaspiisk.