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
Karasu (Euphrates) through a rocky gorge. Near the small town of Kemaliye it receives its last tributary, the Çaltısuyu, before turning sharply southeast to flow through a deep canyon into the Keban Dam Lake on the Euphrates. Before construction of the Keban Dam the Karasu joined the Murat River 10 km above the dam site and 13 km above the town of Keban. In 1996, 15 Turkish soldiers were killed when their personnel carrier fell into the river during a routine crossing. When temperatures in Turkey dropped below -25 °C in 2005 the river froze over and was used as a football