Nahr al-Kabir al-Shamali

The Nahr al-Kabir al-Shamali (Arabic: النهر الكبير الشمالي, lit. 'the northern great river', Ugaritic: 𐎗𐎈𐎁𐎐, rḥbn,^[1] in contrast with the Nahr al-Kabir al-Janoubi, lit. 'the southern great river) is a river in Latakia Governorate, Syria.

Nahr al-Kabir al-Shamali Arabic: النهر الكبير الشمالي, Ugaritic: 𐎗𐎈𐎁𐎐
Lake nestled within the river, 2004
Location
Country	Syria
Physical characteristics
Source	Syrian Coastal Mountain Range
• location	Latakia Governorate, Syria
• elevation	1,100 m (3,600 ft)
Mouth	south of Latakia
Length	56 km (35 mi)
Basin size	1,103.63 km2 (426.11 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	40 m3/s (1,400 cu ft/s)

History

During Ugarit period, the river was known as "Raḥbānu".^[2][3]

Course

Al-Kabir al-Shamali river rises in the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range, north western Syria at the Turkish borders, and runs through a plain area to the south west to finally flow into the Mediterranean Sea south of Latakia.

Dams

• 16 Tishreen dam, built to be used in power generation, storage of rain and river water, and the creation of Mashqita lake for fishing and tourism.^[4]
• Baradun Dam, is another dam under construction on the river to the north of the previous one.^[5] However, the construction was halted during the Syrian Civil War.^[6]