Çoruh

(Russian, Chorokh), a river in Turkey and the USSR (in the Adzhar ASSR of the Georgian SSR). The Çoruh has a length of 438 km; of this total, 26 km of the lower course are in the USSR. The river drains an area of 22,000 sq km. It flows mainly in a tectonic valley between the Lazistan Ridge and the Çoruh Mountains before emptying into the Black Sea, near Batumi. The mean flow rate is 285 cu m per sec; high water occurs in spring and summer. The Çoruh is used for floating timber and for irrigation. The Turkish city of Bayburt is situated on the river.