Sunzha (river)

Sunzha
The Sunzha in Grozny
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Location
Country	North Ossetia, Ingushetia and Chechnya, Russia
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Greater Caucasus, North Ossetia
Mouth	Terek
• coordinates	43°26′27″N 46°08′05″E / 43.44083°N 46.13472°E / 43.44083; 46.13472
Length	278 km (173 mi)
Basin size	12,000 km2 (4,600 sq mi)
Basin features
Progression	Terek→ Caspian Sea

The Sunzha (Russian: Су́нжа, IPA: [ˈsunʐə]; Chechen: Соьлжа, romanized: Sölƶa;^[1] Ingush: Шолжа, romanized: Sholʒə) is a river in North Ossetia, Ingushetia and Chechnya, Russia, a tributary of the Terek. It flows northeast inside the great northwest bend of the Terek River and catches most of the rivers that flow north from the mountains before they reach the Terek. It is 278 kilometres (173 mi) long, and has a drainage basin of 12,000 square kilometres (4,600 sq mi).^[2] The Sunzha rises on the Northern slope of the Caucasus Major. Its major tributaries are the Assa and Argun. With a turbidity of 3,800 grams per cubic metre (6.4 lb/cu yd), it carries 12.2 million tons of alluvium per year. It is used for irrigation. Cities that lie on the Sunzha include Nazran, Karabulak, Grozny (the capital of Chechnya), and Gudermes. During the First and Second Chechen Wars, the destruction of petroleum reservoirs caused the Sunzha to become polluted with petroleum.^[3]

The origin of the name of the river is disputed. The most probable of versions say Sunzha has come from Mongol-Turkic languages in the deformed type. It is known that Mongols called it Suinchie, Russians Sevenz and in the Chechen language its name got corrective type Solchzha.^{[citation needed]}

There is also other version that before Sunzha Chechens called the river Okhi «Oh'-hi, Оhhи» that means «downwards the river».^{[citation needed]}

• Valerik (river) – historically notable tributary of Sunzha