Varzob

(also Dushanbedar’ia, Dushanbinka), a river in the western Tadzhik SSR; right tributary of the Kafirnigan River. Formed by the confluence of the Ziddy and Maikhura Rivers, which flow down the southern slope of the Gissar Range. Length, 71 km; basin area, 1,740 sq km. It is fed chiefly by melting glaciers and snow. Its average yearly discharge is 53.5 cu m per sec (at Dushanbe). In its lower reaches, on the Gissar Plain, it is widely used for irrigation. The city of Dushanbe and a hydroelectric power-plant grid are located on the Varzob River.