Editing Orontes River (section)

==Course==
[[File:Map of the Orontes river.png|thumb|left|Map of the Orontes. White lines are country borders, river names are italic on a blue background, current cities or major towns on white backgrounds, other places of significance on orange backgrounds.|385x385px]]
 
The Orontes rises in the springs near [[Labweh]] in Lebanon on the east side of the [[Beqaa Valley]] (in the [[Beqaa Governorate]]) between [[Mount Lebanon]] on the west and the [[Anti-Lebanon Mountains]] on the east, very near the source of the southward-flowing [[Litani River|Litani]], and runs north, falling {{convert|600|m}} through a gorge to leave the valley.<ref name=aquastat/> The [[Ain ez Zarqa]] is one such major spring.<ref name="readersnatural">{{Cite book|title=Natural Wonders of the World|publisher=Reader's Digest Association, Inc|year=1980|isbn=0-89577-087-3|editor-last=Scheffel|editor-first=Richard L.|location=United States of America|pages=34|editor-last2=Wernet|editor-first2=Susan J.}}</ref> Other major springs are Al Ghab, Al Rouj, and Al-Azraq.<ref name=aquastat/> The river's [[drainage basin]] within Lebanon is {{cvt|1930|sqkm|sqmi}}; the country's second largest behind Litani.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shaban |first1=Amin |title=Rivers of Lebanon: Significant Water Resources under Threats |journal=Hydrology |date=17 February 2021 |page=7 |url=https://www.pseau.org/outils/ouvrages/cnrsl_rivers_of_lebanon_significant_water_resources_under_threats_2020.pdf}}</ref>

[[File:نهر العاصي عند عين الزرقا.JPG|thumb|The Orontes flowing at the foot of the [[Syrian Coastal Mountain Range]]|220x220px]]
[[File:Orontes River in Hama, Syria.jpg|thumb|Orontes River in [[Hama]], Syria|220x220px]]
Leaving this gorge, it expands into the [[Lake of Homs]]  (an artificial lake created by a [[Lake Homs Dam|Roman-era dam]], also known as Qattinah lake) in the  [[Homs Governorate]] of [[Syria]] and through the city of [[Homs]] (or Ḥimṣ). Next it flows through the [[Hama Governorate]] and its capital of [[Hamah]] (Hamaih-Epiphaneia), and the ancient site of Larissa ([[Shaizar]]). This is where the river enters the [[Ghab plain]].
Further downstream, on the eastern edge of the Ghab, is located the ancient city of [[Apamea (Syria)|Apamea]].<ref name="aquastat" /> To the west is the [[Syrian Coastal Mountain Range|Coastal Mountain Range]]. The last Syrian governorate it goes through is [[Idlib Governorate|Idlib]] and the city of [[Jisr al-Shughur]]. This section ends at the rocky barrier of [[Jisr al-Hadid]], where the river turns west into the plain of [[Antioch]] ([[Amik Valley]]) in the [[Hatay Province]] of Turkey.<ref name="aquastat" />

[[File:Orontes River Antakya-mohammad adil rais.jpg|thumb|The Orontes in [[Antakya]], [[Hatay]]|220x220px]]
Two major tributaries, the southward-flowing [[Afrin River]] on the west and the [[Karasu (Hatay)|Karasu]] on the east, join the Orontes through the former [[Lake Amik]] via an artificial channel (Nahr al-Kowsit). Passing north of [[Antakya]] (ancient Antioch), the Orontes dives southwest into a gorge (compared by the ancients to [[Vale of Tempe|Tempe]]), and falls {{convert|50|m}} in {{convert|16|km}} to the sea just south of [[Samandağ]] (former Suedia, in antiquity Seleucia Pieria), after a total course of {{convert|450|km}}.<ref name=aquastat/>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
|+ Major dams on the river<ref name=aquastat/>
! Name !! Nearest City !! Year !! Height (m) !! Capacity (million m3) !! Note
|-
| [[Al-Rastan Dam|Al-Rastan]] || Homs || 1960 || 67 || 228 || 
|-
| [[Lake Homs Dam|Qattinah]] || Homs || 1976 || 7 || 200 || originally built 284 CE
|-
| [[Mouhardeh Dam|Mouhardeh]] || Hama  || 1960|| 41 || 67 || 
|-
| [[Zeyzoun Dam|Zeyzoun]] || Hamah|| 1995 || 43 || 71 || failed 2002
|-
| Kastoun || Hamah || 1992 || 20 || 27 || 
|}