What is the elevation of the Euphrates River west of Baghdad? How high are the natural levees?
The Euphrates is approximately 2,781 kilometers (1,730 mi) long. (http://www.eosnap.com/?p=1141) According to the US NCDC (National Climatic Data Center): “Wadis (seasonal streams) flow downslope toward the east into the Euphrates River. Elevations rise to 900- 1,200 feet (275-365 meters) on the plateau. In the river valleys, elevations decrease from north to south from their entry points, Syria at 1,100 feet (335 meters) and Turkey at 1,800 feet (550 meters), to 100-180 feet (30-55 meters) just a few miles north of Baghdad and to 30-80 feet (9-25 meters) in the flood plain from As Samawah southward to the gulf. Roughly the southernmost eighth of the river valleys is marshy with areas that become seasonal lakes. In eastern Iraq, both wadis and permanent rivers flow toward the west to join the Tigris River from the higher terrain in Iran. It has been reported that many of the marsh areas have been drained entirely or seriously deprived of water by reservoir construction upstream. This e
