Çoruh Chorokh, Ch'orokhi, Acampsis
Location
Countries	Turkey and Georgia
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Mescit Mountains
Mouth	Black Sea
• coordinates	41°36′17″N 41°34′27″E / 41.6047°N 41.5742°E / 41.6047; 41.5742
Length	438 km (272 mi)[1]
Basin size	22,100 km2 (8,500 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	278 m3/s (9,800 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
• right	Machakhelistsqali, Acharistsqali

The Chorokh (Georgian: ჭოროხი Ch'orokhi, Turkish: Çoruh, Armenian: Ճորոխ Chorokh, Azerbaijani: Çorox, Greek: Άκαμψις, Akampsis) is a river that rises in the Mescit Mountains in north-eastern Turkey, flows through the cities of Bayburt, İspir, Yusufeli, and Artvin, along the Kelkit-Çoruh Fault, before flowing into Georgia, where it reaches the Black Sea just south of Batumi and a few kilometers north of the Turkish-Georgian border.

In Arrian's Periplus Ponti Euxini, it is called the Acampsis (Greek: Άκαμψις); Pliny may have confused it with the Bathys.^[2] Procopius writes that it was called Acampsis because it was impossible to force a way through it after it has entered the sea, since it discharges its stream with such force and swiftness, causing a great disturbance of the water before it, that it goes out for a very great distance into the sea and makes it impossible to coast along at that point.^[3]

In English, it was formerly known as the Boas, the Churuk, or the Chorokh.^[4][5]

The Ch'orokhi valley lies within the Caucasus ecological zone, which is considered by the World Wide Fund for Nature and by Conservation International as a biodiversity hotspot.^[6][7] The Çoruh Valley is recognised by Turkish conservation organisations as an important plant area,^[8] an important bird area,^[9] a key biodiversity area^[10] and has been nominated as a high priority area for protection. This valley is rich in plants and contains 104 nationally threatened plant species of which 67 are endemic to Turkey.^[8]

The Çoruh has been called "an eco-tourism gem" and "Turkey's last remaining wild river", and is being promoted for whitewater kayaking by the Eastern Anatolia Tourism Development Project.^[11] It attracts kayakers and rafters from all over the world and was the site of the 4th World Rafting Championship in 1993^[12] and the Coruh Extreme kayak competition in 2005.^[13]

A total of 17 large hydroelectric dams are planned as part of the Çoruh River Development Plan^[14] but a total of 27 are proposed for the Çoruh River Catchment. Under the Çoruh Development Plan, 8 dams have been completed (Arkun, Artvin, Borçka, Deriner, Güllübağ, Murtli, Tortum and Yusufeli Dams), another 2 are under construction.^[15]

• "The Yusufeli dam project". Rivernet.
• "Biological Assessment Yusufeli Dam & Hydro-Electricity Power Project's Environmental Impact Assessment" (PDF). ECA Watch. Archived from the original (PDF) on Feb 7, 2012.
• Friends of the Earth