DIYALA RIVER

Arabic Nahr Diyala, river, important tributary of the Tigris River, rising in the Zagros Mountains of western Iran near Hamadan as the Sirvan River and flowing westward across lowlands to join the Tigris just below Baghdad, Iraq. Its total length is 275 miles (443 km). The upper Diyala drains an extensive mountain area of Iran and Iraq. For 20 miles (32 km) it forms the frontier between the two countries. Thereafter it flows first into a rolling plateau country, forming part of the region known as Assyria and centred on the oil-field area of Khanaqin, then through the Hamrin Mountains (the southwestern boundary of Assyria) into the flat Tigris lowlands. Several dams, including the Khan Gorge, near the Iranian frontier, divert water for flood control, hydroelectric power, and the irrigation of wheat, rye, cotton, rice, and tobacco in the lower valley. Ba'qubah, the main riparian centre, lies on the river's lower course, about 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Baghdad.