The western of the two great rivers of Mesopotamia — 'the land between the rivers' where cities were born.
Length
2,800 km
Source
Eastern Anatolia, Turkey
Mouth
Shatt al-Arab / Persian Gulf
Continent
Asia
Countries
Turkey, Syria & Iraq
Did you know?
The Euphrates watered Sumer, among the first urban civilisations, and the biblical Garden of Eden is often placed between it and the Tigris.
Little-known fact
The ancient city of Babylon was built on its banks, and falling water levels have recently exposed long-submerged archaeological sites.
Highlights
- A river of ancient Mesopotamia
- Watered the first cities
- Flowed past ancient Babylon
Life in the Euphrates
The fish and animals, waterbirds and water plants — including some of the rarest — that this water supports.
Animals & fish
Wels catfish
A monstrous European catfish that can top 2.5 m and has learned to beach itself to catch pigeons.
Waterbirds
Common kingfisher
A dazzling blue-and-orange dart that plunges from a perch to spear fish in an instant.
Grey heron
A patient, statue-still angler that stalks the shallows of rivers and lakes across the Old World.
Water plants & reeds
Common reed
The tall, feathery grass that forms the vast reedbeds fringing rivers and lakes, sheltering countless birds.
Interactive · 3D journey
Journey of a river · source → sea
Every river runs the same great journey — from an icy mountain spring, down through gorges and looping meanders, to a wide delta where it meets the sea. Tap a stage to follow the water downstream.
Tip: hover to tilt the valley · tap a stage to float downstream
The Source
Every river begins high up — in a mountain spring, a melting glacier or a boggy upland. The water is cold, clear and fast, tumbling down the steepest ground of its whole journey.
Landforms here