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
Sajur River join the Euphrates on Syrian soil – the other two being the Balikh and the Khabur. The Sājūr is also the only river in Syria that enters the Euphrates on its right bank; both the Balikh and the Khabur flow into the Euphrates on the left bank. The Sājūr drains a total area of . The Syrian part of the Sājūr basin – the Manbij Plain – has been particularly well-studied. This area is bounded on the north by the Syro–Turkish border and extends as far south as Manbij. To the west, the Manbij Plain is bordered by basalt outcrops;