TEREK, a river of Russia flowing from the Caucasus Range to the Caspian Sea, rising in glaciers on Mount Kasbek. It skirts the Kasbek group on the south and west, and flows through a series of gorges. The most famous is the Darial gorge by which the Terek escapes to the plains on the north, its furious torrent flowing between wild granitic bare rocks and forming a contrast to the wooded limestone mountains beyond. The Georgian mili tary road, built 1811-64, passes through the gorge and enabled Russia to establish her rule among the wild Caucasian mountain tribes. Below Vladikavkaz at the foot of a vast declivity, it col lects the waters of the Gusel-don, Fiag-don, Ar-don and later re ceives the Urukh, and the Malka, with its affluents the Cherek and Baksu. It then flows through the steppe country at the northern foot of the Caucasus to the Caspian, being joined before it reaches the delta by the Sunja, a tributary receiving the Chanti or Argun, and fed by numerous sulphur streams, one of them, the Melchihi, rising in five hot springs which affect the temperature of the Melchihi for some distance. In spite of losses by evapora
tion and irrigation, the Terek still has a sufficiently large volume to enable it to spread out in a great delta, with branches shifting in flood time and changing their relative importance. This delta stretches for 7o m. along the coast. The coast line, like that of the Volga delta, is encroaching on the Caspian, and old shore lines may be traced considerably west of the present coast. Fishing vil lages which in 1825 stood on the coast line were io m. inland in 1855. Among the more important irrigation canals are the Eris tov and Kurskiy, fed from the Malka ; plans are under considera tion for irrigation of part of the Nogai steppe, recently included in the Dagestan A.S.S.R. In its lower course the Terek flows above the level of the surrounding country.