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24 Sea to the Aral. In its lower reaches the bed of the river is extremely muddy, and it has been estimated that no less than 16,000,000 tons of sedimentary matter constantly pass down the channel to form a vast delta at its mouth. The Kokcha.—This is a small turbulent tributary of the Amu and takes its source near Ramgul Pass, at the northern foot of the Hindu Kush. Taking a northerly direction, it flows past the villages of Anjuman, Skarkar, Parwara, Ishpishmir: Garm, Iskan, Jurm, Khairabad, and reaches Faizabad, the capital city of Badakhahn. Then turning north-west it passes below Rustaq, and making for the Oxus, flows into it to the north of Hazrat-i- Imam. Little use is made of the waters of this river, for its bed is very deep and the current is extremely swift. The Kunduz.—Another river of this category is the Kun- duz, now called Baghlan. Rising in the western Hindu Kush, near Bamian, it flows through the Shikari Pass, where it is known by the name of Bamian Stream (Rud-i-Bamian). At Doab it receives the waters of the Shighnan and Kamard. The joint stream then breaks out of the Hindu Kush gorge near Barfak, and makes for Doshi. After passing through a series of difficult narrow valleys, and through steep and rocky banks, it reaches Pul-i-Khumri, a comparatively open country. Leaving Baghlan to the west it flows straight to the north and, via Aliabad, goes to Kunduz, whence, turning north-east, it flows into the Oxus. The Kunduz, throughout its length, in the plains as well as in the hilly districts, is utilized for irrigation purposes, so very little is left of it when it makes a junction with the Amu. Other tributaries of the Oxus, which take their rise on the northern slopes of the Hindu Kush, are: the Tashqurghan, the