Agriculture in Syria runoff most of the year. The river flows southeastward across the arid Syrian Plateau into Iraq, where it joins the Tigris River shortly before emptying into the Persian Gulf. In addition to Syria, both Turkey and Iraq use dams on the Euphrates for hydroelectric power, water control, storage, and irrigation. In the mid-1980s, about a half of the annual Euphrates River flow was used by these three countries. Syrians have long used the Euphrates for irrigation, but, because the major systems were destroyed centuries ago, they now make only limited use of the river's flow. In the mid-1980s, the Euphrates
Water conflict in the Middle East and North Africa demands may soon exceed Egypt’s. Irrigating only half of Ethiopia’s arable lands would reduce water flow to downstream Sudan and Egypt by 15%. The Tigris-Euphrates River Basin consists of its two primary rivers – The Tigris River and the Euphrates River – and their minor tributaries. Both the Tigris and the Euphrates originate in southeastern Turkey. The Tigris flows from Turkey, tracing the border between Turkey and Syria for 32 km before flowing south through Iraq. From its origin in Turkey, the Euphrates flows into Syria from the north, before continuing on through Iraq. The two rivers meet in Iraq