Trending Now - Researchers Uncover Origins of the Euphrates River's Significance

WHO:

Live Science - Andrew Madof, senior seismic stratigrapher at Chevron, is the first author of the study.

Yahoo - Researchers involved in the study include Andrew Madof and his colleagues.

WHAT:

Live Science - The study reveals that the Euphrates River originated from the merger of two rivers, the Paleo-Karasu and Paleo-Murat.

Yahoo - The Euphrates River is approximately 1,900 miles long (3,000 kilometers).

Live Science - The Paleo-Murat River changed course around 3.6 million years ago, while the Paleo-Karasu River was rerouted 800,000 years later, around 2.8 million years ago.

Yahoo - The two rivers combined to flow southeast into the Persian Gulf by roughly 1.6 million years ago.

Live Science - The study was published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

WHERE:

Live Science - The Paleo-Karasu and Paleo-Murat rivers flowed across present-day Turkey and Syria into the Mediterranean Sea.

Yahoo - The Fertile Crescent, often referred to as the "cradle of civilization," stretches from present-day Egypt to southeastern Iraq.

WHEN:

Live Science - The Paleo-Karasu and Paleo-Murat rivers flowed into the Mediterranean Sea until around 3.6 million years ago.

Yahoo - The Mediterranean Sea refilled 5.33 million years ago after the Messinian salinity crisis, which lasted about 700,000 years.

Live Science - The study was published on June 1 in the journal Nature Geoscience.

WHY:

Live Science - The merger of the Paleo-Karasu and Paleo-Murat rivers was crucial for the formation of the Fertile Crescent and the development of early human civilizations.

HOW:

Live Science - Researchers used seismic data, maps of the land surface, and satellite data to reconstruct the geological history of the Euphrates River.

Yahoo - The team modeled sediment transport in the Paleo-Karasu and Paleo-Murat rivers to estimate their size and drainage areas.

(UPDATED June 2, 2026 04:22 UTC)

A recent study published in the journal Nature Geoscience reveals that the Euphrates River originated from the merger of two ancient rivers, the Paleo-Karasu and Paleo-Murat, which flowed across present-day Turkey and Syria into the Mediterranean Sea. Researchers, led by Andrew Madof from Chevron, found that the Paleo-Murat changed course around 3.6 million years ago, followed by the rerouting of the Paleo-Karasu about 800,000 years later, with the two rivers combining to flow southeast into the Persian Gulf by roughly 1.6 million years ago. This merger was crucial for the formation of the Fertile Crescent, often called the "cradle of civilization," and the study utilized seismic data and satellite imagery to reconstruct the geological history of the Euphrates.