River
Panj River
921 km from source to mouth · Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
Tajikistan and AfghanistanFlows into Amu Darya1st longest in Tajikistan
In numbers
Length
921km
Average flow
1,000m³/s
Basin
114,000km²
Drop
2,476m
from 2,794 m to 318 m
Countries
2
The journey
From source to mouth
921 km of river and 19 stops on the way: 6 towns and cities on its banks, dams, bridges and the tributaries that feed it.
- 0 kmSourceat 2,794 m
- 9 kmWakhan Rivertributary
- 9 kmPamir Rivertributary
- 131 kmIshqoshim26,000 people
- 231 kmKhorugh30,500 people
- 233 kmGunt Rivertributary
- 236 kmTajik–Afghan bridge at Tem-Demogan
- 290 kmBartang Rivertributary
- 317 kmKōl-e Yārkh0.4 km²
- 361 kmYazgulyam Rivertributary
- 374 kmVanj Rivertributary
- 449 kmTajik–Afghan Friendship Bridge
- 696 kmYangī Qal‘ah11,100 people
- 727 kmKyzylsu Rivertributary
- 748 kmKokcha Rivertributary
- 774 kmDasht-e Archī8,263 people
- 787 kmPanj8,019 people
- 820 kmḨalqah Kōl0.9 km²
- 824 kmQarāwul24,544 people
- 845 kmTajikistan–Afghanistan bridge at Panji Poyon
- 921 kmAmu Daryaat 318 m
Water level along the river (RiverATLAS; the height is exaggerated). Towns: GeoNames and Wikidata; bridges, dams and tributaries: Wikidata.
Tributary of the Amu Darya
At the mouth it carries 1,000 m³/s on average: an Olympic pool every 2.5 seconds. It drops from 2,794 m to 318 m, 2.7 m per kilometre on average. Its basin covers 114,000 km², about the size of BJ. 3.2 million people live in it. Highest water, with the snowmelt: from April to May; lowest: from January to February and from September to October. No large dam holds it back: it is one of the world's free-flowing rivers.
Where to start
- KhorughLargest city on its banks · 30,500 people
- Kulob International Airport (TJU)Nearest airport with scheduled flights, 163 km from the city
- On the water2 ferry piers, marinas, boat rentals and boat ramps along the river (OpenStreetMap)
- From May to SeptemberThe best months to visit
Panj River, month by month
Highest water: from April to May
Lowest water: from January to February and from September to October. Freezing months (average below −4 °C): January. Melting snow makes up much of its water. Best months to visit: from May to September.
From about 270 m³/s in the lowest month to 2,500 m³/s in the highest. An estimate: the monthly flow is modelled from the lowest and highest months of WaterGAP (RiverATLAS, 1971–2000) and the rain and snow along the river (WorldClim). Dams change the real rhythm. The chip is the average air temperature; below it, the month's rain.
Plan the trip
Plan the trip: boat trips, a bed by the river, a car
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The basin
Panj River: the basin in numbers
116,798 km² of land send their water to this river. This is what lives on it.
- 3.2millionpeople live in the basin
- 27/km²people per km²
- 3,430maverage altitude of the basin
- 523mmof rain a year (basin average)
- 0.9°Caverage air temperature
- 13%protected areas
- 0.2%covered by lakes
- 3%glaciers
- 34%permafrost
- 0.0km³held in reservoirs
What covers the basin
- 6% Cropland
- 30% Pasture
- 3% Ice
RiverATLAS (HydroATLAS v1.0, CC BY 4.0): land cover, people, protected areas, glaciers and dams over the whole basin upstream of the mouth.
Along the river
Panj River: what you find on the way
- 8Weirs
- 21WaterfallsVrang water falls, Waterfall, visible from Tajikistan, Nasta and 18 more
- 2Ferry piers
From OpenStreetMap, within 2.4 km of the river. Not mapped is not the same as not there.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Panj River in our other atlases
What our sister atlases know about the waterfalls on this river, the lakes it flows through, the beaches at its mouth, the mountains where it rises and the islands off its mouth.
2lakes on its wayLakeyas
Lakes and reservoirs (2)
Lakes it flows through, by Lakeyas
- Kōl-e Yārkhkm 3060.4km²
- Ḩalqah Kōlkm 7920.9km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
From space
The source and the mouth, seen from orbit
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016), CC BY 4.0. The glowing line is the river as drawn by RiverATLAS.
Photos
Panj River in pictures
Tributaries
Where it flows, and what flows into it
It flows into
Amu Darya
Uzbekistan2,620 km1,400 m³/sTributaries (8)
Tajikistan528 km130 m³/sjoins at km 280Kokcha RiverAfghanistan360 km180 m³/sjoins at km 723Gunt RiverTajikistan296 km100 m³/sjoins at km 225Wakhan RiverAfghanistan220 km16 m³/sjoins at km 9Pamir RiverAfghanistan118 km13 m³/sjoins at km 9Also: Vanj River, Yazgulyam River, Kyzylsu River
Nearby
Rivers nearby
Tajikistan524 km160 m³/s0 km awayKunduz RiverAfghanistan420 km160 m³/s14 km awayKofarnihon RiverTajikistan387 km160 m³/s34 km awaySurxondaryoUzbekistan175 km66 m³/s91 km awayKokcha RiverAfghanistan360 km180 m³/s95 km awayBartang RiverTajikistan528 km130 m³/s301 km awayGunt RiverTajikistan296 km100 m³/s286 km awayKunar RiverAfghanistan480 km370 m³/s361 km awayWhere these numbers come from
| Name, length, places | Wikidata (Q8542) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Course, profile, basin | RiverATLAS v1.0 (HydroATLAS, Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 — followed from the source to the mouth given by Wikidata |
| Flow | WaterGAP (RiverATLAS), 1971–2000 · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate along the river | WorldClim (RiverATLAS), 1970–2000 · CC BY 4.0 |
| Towns, bridges, dams | Wikidata · CC0; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Along the river | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Our other atlases | Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; HydroLAKES · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every source and licence is on the data sources page.
The family
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