Kura (Caspian Sea) drained and reservoirs were created to facilitate development of irrigation in the lower Kura valley. In the 1950s and 1960s, when the Caucasus region was part of the Soviet Union, construction of many of the reservoirs and waterworks in the Kura basin began. Of the major reservoirs in the Kura catchment, one of the earliest was at Varvara in 1952. Large scale construction of dams continued until the 1970s. Kura (Caspian Sea) The Kura (; ; , "Mt’k’vari"; , "Kur"; , "Cyrus"; , "Kuruš" ) is an east-flowing river south of the Greater Caucasus Mountains which drains the southern slopes
Caspian Sea The water level change within the Caspian Sea is an indirect reason for which plants may not get established. These affect aquatic plants of the Volga Delta, such as "Aldrovanda vesiculosa" and the native "Nelumbo caspica". About 11 plant species are found in the Samur River Delta, including the unique liana forests that date back to the Tertiary period. Reptiles native to the region include spur-thighed tortoise ("Testudo graeca buxtoni") and Horsfield's tortoise. The history of the Caspian sea is divided into two parts: a Miocene stage, determined by tectonic events that correlate with the closing of the Tethys Sea,