The Terek River is a major river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in the Northern Caucasus, flowing through Georgia

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

 and Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 into the Caspian Sea

Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...

. It rises in Georgia near the juncture of the The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range

Caucasus Mountains

The Caucasus Mountains is a mountain system in Eurasia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region .The Caucasus Mountains includes:* the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and* the Lesser Caucasus Mountains....

 and the Khokh Range

Khokh Range

The Khokh Range is a mountain range in the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia. The mountain range runs north of the Greater Caucasus Range, which is pierced by the gorges of the Ardon and the Terek. The Kazbek volcano is located in the Khokh Range.- Etymology :...

, to the southwest of Mount Kazbek, then flows north through North Ossetia and the city of Vladikavkaz

Vladikavkaz

-Notable structures:In Vladikavkaz, there is a guyed TV mast, tall, built in 1961, which has six crossbars with gangways in two levels running from the mast structure to the guys.-Twin towns/sister cities:...

. It turns east to flow through Chechnya

Chechnya

The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...

 and Dagestan

Dagestan

The Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea...

 before dividing into two branches

Water divide

A drainage divide, water divide, divide or watershed is the line separating neighbouring drainage basins...

 which empty into the Caspian Sea

Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...

. Below the city of Kizlyar

Kizlyar

Kizlyar is a town in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located in the delta of the Terek River northwest of Makhachkala. Population: 30,000 ....

 it forms a swampy river delta

River delta

A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...

 around 100 km (62.1 mi) wide. Major inflows are Gizeldon, Ardon

Ardon River

Ardon River is a river in North Ossetia-Alania in Russia, a left tributary of the Terek River. The length of the Ardon is 102 km, the area of its drainage basin is 2700 km². The Ardon originates in the glaciers of the Greater Caucasus. The Ossetian Military Road crosses the valley of the Ardon...

, Urukh, Fiagdon, Malka

Malka River

Malka River , also known as Balyksu River , is a river in Kabardino-Balkaria in Russia, Terek's left tributary. The length of the river is 210 km. The area of its basin is 10,000 km². The Malka originates in the glaciers on the northern slopes of Mount Elbrus. Its main tributary is the...

, Baksan

Baksan River

Baksan River, also known as Azau is a river in Kabardino-Balkaria in Russia, a right tributary of the Malka River . The length of the Baksan is 173 km, the area of its drainage basin is 6,800 km². The Baksan originates in the glaciers of the Elbrus. The towns of Tyrnyauz and Baksan are located on...

 and Sunzha rivers. The river is a key natural asset in the region, being used for irrigation

Irrigation

Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...

 and hydroelectric power in its upper reaches.

The main cities on the Terek are Vladikavkaz

Vladikavkaz

-Notable structures:In Vladikavkaz, there is a guyed TV mast, tall, built in 1961, which has six crossbars with gangways in two levels running from the mast structure to the guys.-Twin towns/sister cities:...

, Mozdok, and Kizlyar

Kizlyar

Kizlyar is a town in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located in the delta of the Terek River northwest of Makhachkala. Population: 30,000 ....

. Several minor hydroelectrostation are constructed on Terek: Dzau electrostation (in Vladikavkaz), Bekanskaya and Pavlodolskaya.

Human history

The capital of Khazaria Samandar

Samandar (city)

Samandar was a city in Khazaria on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, south of the city of Atil, in the North Caucasus. The exact location of the city is unknown, but most likely, it was situated on the Terek river near the present-day city of Kizlyar, which, like Samandar, is noted for its...

 was possibly placed at the bank of the river.

The Terek river was the site of the final defeat of the Hulagu, khan

Khan (title)

Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...

 of the Ilkhanate

Ilkhanate

The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate , was a Mongol khanate established in Azerbaijan and Persia in the 13th century, considered a part of the Mongol Empire...

, Army, against the army of Berke

Berke

Berke Khan was the ruler of the Golden Horde who effectively consolidated the power of the Blue Horde and White Hordes from 1257 to 1266. He succeeded his brother Batu Khan of the Blue Horde and was responsible for the first official establishment of Islam in a khanate of the Mongol Empire...

, khan of the Golden Horde

Golden Horde

The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...

, led by Nogai Khan

Nogai Khan

Nogai , also called Isa Nogai, was a general and de facto ruler of the Golden Horde and a great-great-grandson of Genghis Khan. His grandfather was Baul/Teval Khan, the 7th son of Jochi...

, in the first civil war of the Mongol Empire

Mongol Empire

The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...

, the Berke-Hulagu war

Berke-Hulagu war

The Berke-Hulagu war was a civil war in the Mongol Empire which fought between two Mongol leaders: Berke Khan of the Golden Horde, and Hulagu Khan of the Ilkhanate. It was fought mostly in the Caucasus mountains area in the 1260s after the destruction of Baghdad in 1258...

. Also is the site of a battle that Timur defeated Tokhtamysh

Battle of the Terek River

The Battle of the Terek River was the second major battle of Tokhtamysh-Timur War. It took place at the Terek River, North Caucasus.Tokhtamysh cavalry attacked the right flank and the center of Timur's army. However, some Golden Horde emirs went over to Timur's side. This helped Timur defeat the...

 in 1395.

It was home to the Terek Cossack Host.