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- For the other river of the same name, see Murgab River (Afghanistan).
The Murghab River (Tajik/Persian:Мурғоб/مرغاب, meaning Birds River), also spelled as Murghob, Murgob, or Murgab (from Russian: Мургаб), and known in its upper reaches as the Aksu or Oksu, rises in extreme northeastern Afghanistan before flowing north and west into Tajikistan, which contains the bulk of its length. The river flows north and west through Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan region, passing first the village of Shaimak and then the city of Murghab, before flowing into Sarez Lake and merging further west with Kudara River to form the Bartang.
On February 18, 1911, a great earthquake (estimated between 8 and 9 on the Richter scale) caused a large landslide which completely blocked the flow of the Murghab and buried a local village. The landslide, estimated at two cubic kilometers of rock, formed a natural dam called the Usoi Dam. Over the following months the Murghab filled the space behind the Usoi to form Sarez Lake, which now fills about 60 kilometers in length of the Murghab river valley and contains 17 cubic kilometers of water. Geologists believe that the dam may be unstable and could collapse during a future strong earthquake.[1] Shortly beyond the Usoi, the Murghab joins Kudara River to form the Bartang, the waters eventually flowing into the Panj River and then the Amu Darya, one of the great rivers of Central Asia.
- ^ Bolt, B.A., W.L. Horn, G.A. Macdonald and R.F. Scott, (1975) Geological hazards: earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, avalanches, landslides, floods Springer-Verlag, New York, ISBN 0-387-06948-8
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