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
Shule River by two reservoirs, Changma and Shuangta. There are also more than three additional hydropower/diversion dams on the river. The entire flow of the Shule is diverted directly downstream of the mountains into a canal that runs north-northeast across the delta, supplying farms in the valley to the north. This water is eventually returned to the river, but irrigation usage has caused the river to dry up well before its historic terminus. It is surmised that a few thousand years ago, the region was cooler and wetter, and the river had significantly more flow than it does today. Shule River The