MORGHAB RIVER

also spelled Murgab, Turkmen Murgap river rising in northwestern Afghanistan in a basin bounded on the north by the Torkestan Mountains and on the south by the Safid Mountain Range. The river flows generally west and then north, passing through the town of Bala Morghab, just beyond which it forms the border between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan for 10 miles (16 km). It then continues into Turkmenistan and is joined by its only important tributary, the Kushk, at Dashkpri. Dams control irrigation water at Dashkpri and Yolten. A railroad branch follows the river from Dashkpri to Mary, where it joins the Transcaspian Railway. North of Mary the river disappears into the Karakum Desert after a course of some 600 miles (970 km).