Sefid-Rud

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The Sefid-Rud (also spelled Sepid-Rud) is a river in Iran. It rises in the Alborz Mountains in the northwest, flows northeast for about 670 kilometers, and empties into the Caspian Sea at Rasht in Gilan Province. Its main headwater tributaries are the Qizil Üzan on the left and the Shahrood on the right. The name means “white river” in Persian, and the river has been known historically as Mardos or Amardus.

The Sefid-Rud cuts a major pass through the Alborz Mountains called the Manjil Gap, where it captures its two headwater rivers and helps form a key route between Tehran and the Caspian region. In the broad valley near the sea, two large irrigation canals—Khomam and Now—convey water to the surrounding lands.

In 1962, the Shahbanu Farah Dam, later renamed the Manjil Dam, was built on the river. It created a reservoir of about 1.86 cubic kilometers, enabling irrigation for roughly 2,380 square kilometers and producing about 87 megawatts of electricity. The dam also helps control floods, but it reduced the river’s flow, raised water temperatures, and decreased the amount of food available for fish. This harmed the river’s fisheries, including the prized Caspian trout and sturgeon.