| Helmand River | |
|---|---|
 Map of the Helmand River drainage basin | |
 Map of the Helmand River drainage basin | |
| Location | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| - location | Hindu Kush mountains |
| Mouth | |
| - location | Lake Hamun |
| Length | 1,150 km (710 mi) |
| Basin size | Sistan Basin |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Arghandab River |
| - right | Khash River Chagay River |
The Helmand River (also spelled Helmend, Helmund, Hirmand; Pashto/Persian: هیرمند, هلمند Hīrmand, Helmand, Greek: Ἐτύμανδρος (Etýmandros), Latin: Erymandrus) is the longest river in Afghanistan. The name means "dammed, having a dam". Helmand Province is named after the river.
The Helmand river stretches for 1,150 km (710 mi). It rises in the Hindu Kush mountains, about 80 km (50 mi) west of Kabul (34°34′N 68°33′E / 34.567°N 68.550°E), passing north of the Unai Pass. It crosses south-west through the desert of Dashti Margo, to the Seistan marshes and the Hamun-i-Helmand lake region around Zabol at the Afghan-Iranian border (31°9′N 61°33′E / 31.150°N 61.550°E).
