Tigris–Euphrates river system through the central plain and combine at Al-Qurnah to form the Shatt al-Arab and discharge into the Persian Gulf. The region has historical importance as part of the Fertile Crescent region, in which civilization is believed to have first emerged. The ecoregion is characterized by two large rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates. The rivers have several small tributaries which feed into the system from shallow freshwater lakes, swamps, and marshes, all surrounded by desert. The hydrology of these vast marshes is extremely important to the ecology of the entire upper Persian Gulf. Historically, the area is known as Mesopotamia. As
Nissibi Euphrates Bridge Nissibi Euphrates Bridge The Nissibi Euphrates Bridge () is a cable-stayed bridge completed on May 21, 2015, spanning the Lake Atatürk Dam on the Euphrates River at the provincial border of Adıyaman–Şanlıurfa in southeastern Turkey. With the forming of the reservoir lake of Atatürk Dam in 1992, the bridge on the highway Kahta–Siverek–Diyarbakır crossing the Euphrates River was inundated. The traffic between Adıyaman and Diyarbakır had to be diverted in the south to the route over Şanlıurfa. Traffic was maintained also by ferry boats across the lake. To bypass the detour, a new bridge was projected crossing over the Lake