As it crosses the Syrian border, the Euphrates flows into Iraq near Al-Qa'im in Al Anbar Province. Between Anah and Haditha, the Haditha Dam creates a large lake, known as Lake Qadisiyah. Between the Syrian border and the town of Hit (in the Heet District), shoals and rapids make the river commercially unnavigable. Once it reaches Hit, the Euphrates is still only navigable by very shallow-draft boats. After Hit, Ramadi is the next major city along on the Euphrates. In Ramadi, a part of the river is diverted to feed a man-made lake called Lake Habbaniyah. The river then flows through Fallujah, and then a canal intersects with the Euphrates south of Baghdad to link the town of Al-Yusufiyyah (on the Euphrates) with Latifiya (on the Tigris in Baghdad) through the industrial part of Baghdad. Also, Shatt al-Hayy. North of Basra, in southern Iraq, the river merges with the Tigris to form the Shatt al-Arab, this in turn empties into the Persian Gulf. The river used to divide into many channels at Basra, forming an extensive marshland, but the marshes were largely drained by the Saddam Hussein government in the 1990s as a means of driving out the rebellious Marsh Arabs. Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the drainage policy has been reversed, but it remains to be seen whether the marshes will recover. Al Hillah Al Kifl Al-Hanaya Anah Al Diwaniyah Fallujah Haditha Haqlaniyah Hīt, Iraq Iskandariya Khan al Baghdadi Kufa (Najaf) Karbala Musayyib Nasiriyah Al-Qa'im (town) Ramadi Rawah Saddat al Hindiyah Samawah Al Anbar Province The following section lists the cities and town in order along the Euphrates river, within the Al Anbar province. Al Qaim District Qusaybah Sa' dah Al Ubaydi As Sammah Mish 'al Shaqaqivah Al Jurn Babiye Artajah An Nayah Anah district Al Mahdiyah Al Ajjamiyah Rawa Anah Haditha District Abu Tughrah Wastan Imam Nur ud din Sulaymaniyah Subhaniyah Matmash Hawijat Sulaymaniyah Mirjalan Arrabi Jadidah Dardasah Suwaynikh Siflah Tasiyah Heet District Sawari Jaudafyah Samaniyah Jubbah (Iraq) Jubariyah Waddahiyah Juwaniyah Mashad Al Baghdadi Charraf Mashad (duplicate city) Daniqiyah Marabdiyah Yardah Bashiri Samalah Zara Kassiya Mashquqah Qabatiyah Sidhadiyah Baziyah Khadaram Mufrawda' Sahliyah Jallawiyah Maskhan Natil Sadqah Hit, Iraq Banrani Khauza Abu Naml Zuwayyah Aqabah Abu tibban Khan Abu Rayt Ramadi District Zanqurah Gothia Say yid 'Abd Allah 'Ali 'Arab Abd al Khalat Ramadi 'Ajal as Salim 'Ali an Numan Fadil Malahimah Habbaniyah (Khaldia) References Sources 22 July