The Kura (Mtkvari) is a river in the Caucasus Mountains. Starting in the old southern Georgian province of Tao, in modern Turkey, it flows through Georgia to Azerbaijan, joining the river Arax. The original Georgian name of the Kura is Mtkvari, meaning "slow one". Kura is the river's Turkish name, adopted first by the Russians and later by European cartographers. Previously navigable up to Tbilisi in Georgia, it is now much slower and shallower, as its power has been harnessed by hydroelectricity stations. The river is moderately polluted by major industrial centers like Tbilisi and Rustavi in Georgia.
