The Murat River or Eastern Euphrates is the major source of the Euphrates

Euphrates

The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...

. It was also called Arsanias in antiquity. The river originates near Mount Ararat

Mount Ararat

Mount Ararat is a snow-capped, dormant volcanic cone in Turkey. It has two peaks: Greater Ararat and Lesser Ararat .The Ararat massif is about in diameter...

 north of Lake Van

Lake Van

Lake Van is the largest lake in Turkey, located in the far east of the country in Van district. It is a saline and soda lake, receiving water from numerous small streams that descend from the surrounding mountains. Lake Van is one of the world's largest endorheic lakes . The original outlet from...

, in eastern Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, and flows westward for 722 km (448.6 mi) through mountainous area. Before construction of the Keban Dam

Keban Dam

The Keban Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Euphrates, located in the Elazığ Province of Turkey. The dam was the first and most upstream of several large-scale dams to be built on the Euphrates by Turkey...

, the Murat River joined the Karasu

Karasu (Euphrates)

The Karasu or Western Euphrates is a long river in eastern Turkey, one of the two sources of the Euphrates. It has a length of about 450 km. To the ancient Greeks the river was known as the Τηλεβόας ....

 10 km (6.2 mi) north the dam site and 13 km (8.1 mi) north the town of Keban

Keban

Keban is a town and district of Elâzığ Province of Turkey. The mayor is Hadi Turan . The population is 4857.Keban is at the west of Elazığ Province and 46 km. far away from province center. At the east of Keban, there is Elazığ Province...

.

Turkey's once largest dam, the Keban Dam

Keban Dam

The Keban Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Euphrates, located in the Elazığ Province of Turkey. The dam was the first and most upstream of several large-scale dams to be built on the Euphrates by Turkey...

, was completed in 1974 and is designed to provide electrical power.