The
Little Zab or
Lower Zab (
(al-Zāb al-Asfal), ,
(Zâb-e Kuchak),
(Zāba taḥtāya)) originates in
Iran and joins the
Tigris in the
Kurdistan region of
Iraq. The river is approximately long and drains an area of
c. . The river is fed by rainfall and snowmelt, resulting in a peak
discharge in spring and low water in summer and early fall. Two dams have been built on the Little Zab, regulating the river flow, providing water for
irrigation and generating
hydroelectricity. The
Zagros Mountains have been occupied since at least the
Lower Palaeolithic, but the earliest archaeological site in the Little Zab basin, Barda Balka, dates to the
Middle Palaeolithic. Human occupation of the Little Zab basin has been attested for every period since then.