The Yaghnob River is a tributary of the Zeravshan River of Sughd

Sughd

Sughd Province is one of the four administrative divisions and one of the three provinces that make up Tajikistan. Centered in the historical Sogdiana, it is located in the northwest of the country, with an area of some 25,400 square kilometers and a population of 2,132,100 , up from 1,870,000...

 (at ca. 39°11′38"N 69°08′12"E), Tajikistan

Tajikistan

Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....

. Its valley

Yagnob Valley

Yagnob Valley North West Tajikistan, is situated between the southern slope of the Zarafshan Range and the northern slope of the Gissar Range. The valley is formed by the Yagnob River and belongs to the Zarafshan basin...

 is the location of the Yaghnobi people

Yaghnobi people

Yaghnobi people, or Yagnobian people, is the name of an isolated people who live in the Sughd province of Tajikistan in the valleys of the Yagnob, Kul and Varzob rivers. These are the last living relics of the great Sogdian nation that once inhabited most of Central Asia beyond the Oxus/Amu Darya...

 and Yaghnobi language

Yaghnobi language

The Yaghnobi language is a living East Iranian language . Yaghnobi is spoken in the upper valley of the Yaghnob River in the Zarafshan area of Tajikistan by the Yaghnobi people...

. The river flows west south of and parallel to the upper Zarafshan River. It joins the east-flowing Iskander River to form the Fan River which flows north to join the Zarafshan at Aini. The main road north from Dushanbe follows the lower Yaghnob and Fan. Before the Soviets blasted a road through, the upper valley was protected by an almost impenetrable gorge, which accounts for the historical isolation of its population.