Botan River

The Botan at Tillo

The Botan ( Botan Turkish Çayı, Botan Suyu aka Uluçay ) is a tributary of the Tigris in the province of Siirt in southeastern Turkey.

It rises in the high mountains west of Nordüz plateau, which forms the border between the provinces of Siirt, Hakkari and Van, and flows westward, before turning to the northwest. The river formed a canyon road with a difference in altitude up to 1000 m. The rivers Çatak and Büyükdere unite with the Botan at Çukurca in the province of Hakkari. From here the river Botan ( Uluçay ) is called. The river flows westward past east Tillo and Siirt and reaches the place Bostancık. Here unite the rivers Zorava and Bitlis to the Botan. It ends at Çattepe in the province of Siirt into the Tigris, which makes a sharp turn to the south here.

The outflow of Botan is from spring to mid summer averaged around 100-300 m³ / s, while in April and June, up to 400-600 m³ / s achieved with a peak of 700-1000 m³ / s and more in May. At the time, he seems much more powerful than the Tigris. Towards the end of summer or in autumn, the depth does not fall below 1 m and its drain is not under 60-80 m³ / s

The crossing of the river is only possible by boat. The river flows in narrow, deep and steep valleys. Levels, there are few, so that the Botan can not be used for irrigation.

Dams

With the intention to build hydroelectric power plants, studies were made at different locations of the river. Seven dams of different sizes are being planned. The construction of the first dam and power plant in the district Tillo has already begun. The official name is Alkumrustaudamm, but he is also called by the traditional name of the district Tillostaudamm. It is a container filled with rock dam of 110 meters and with a capacity of 222 megawatts. The amount of energy that can be produced is 812 GWh, of which 350 GWh are safe. The mean annual runoff is 129 m³ / s Another dam with power plant called Çetinstaudamm will produce an energy capacity of 350 MW and 1,240 GWh. The total investment for the project will be given to U.S. $ 450 million.

In the history

The ancient Greek historian Xenophon (ca. 431-355 BC), a pupil of Socrates ', mentions the crossing of the river Kentrites ( Botan ) in his work Anabasis. He called him a border river between Armenia and the country's Carduchi.