Yeşilırmak (river) explained

Yeşilırmak River
Map:	Yesilirmak.jpg
Source1 Location:	Sivas
Mouth Location:	Black Sea
Mouth Coordinates:	41.3816°N 36.6603°W
Subdivision Type1:	Country
Subdivision Name1:	Turkey
Length:	418km (260miles)
Mouth Elevation:	0m (00feet)

The Yeşilırmak (Turkish: Yeşilırmak,), known as the Iris in antiquity (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Ἶρις), is a river in northern Turkey. From its source northeast of Sivas, it flows past Tokat and Amasya, crosses the Pontic Mountains and the Çarşamba Plain, reaching the Black Sea east of Samsun after 418km (260miles).

Its tributaries include the Çekerek (ancient Scylax) and the Kelkit (ancient Lycus).

It was mentioned by Menippus of Pergamon in the 1st century BC.^[1]

Notes and References

1. Georgia L. IrbyGeorgia L. Irby, A Companion to Science, Technology, and Medicine in Ancient Greece and Rome, 2 Volume Set (John Wiley & Sons, 2016) p 865.
2. http://www.trjfas.org/pdf/issue_3_1/17_24.pdf Phytoplankton and seasonal variations of the River Yeşilırmak, Amasya, Turkey
3. Strabo 12:3:15 at Perseus
4. Tønnes Bekker-Nielsen, Marit Jensen, "Two Pontic Rivers", Cedrus: The Journal of MCRI 3:231-2142 (2015),
5. Serena Bianchetti, Michele Cataudella, Hans-Joachim Gehrke, [Brill's Companion to Ancient Geography: The Inhabited World in Greek and Roman Tradition (BRILL, 4 Dec 2015) [https://books.google.com/books?id=to8DCwAAQBAJ&dq=Menippus+of+Pergamon&pg=PA263 p 263].^[1]

   Strabo's Geographica describes it as flowing through Comana Pontica, the plain of Dazimonitis (Kaşova) (40.2948°N 36.2967°W), and Gaziura (probably modern Turhal)^[2] before receiving the waters (40.5616°N 35.7595°W) of the Scylax, then flowing through Amaseia (Amasya) before reaching the valley of Phanaroea.^[3]

   Starting with Dionysius Periegetes, in his Periegesis of the World, the Iris is often confused with the Thermodon (modern Terme), which also crosses the Themiscyra Plain (modern Çarşamba Plain), with its mouth about 40 km further east; the Thermodon is much smaller and clearer.^[4]

   Notes