Mount Karachok

Mount Karachok is a ridge running east to west in the al-Malikiyah (Derik) area of Hasakah province. It is about 45 kilometres long and on average 10 kilometres wide, and its highest point is about 770 metres above sea level. It rises about 13 kilometres south of the town of al-Malikiyah, and in the flat north-east corner of the Jazira plain it is the only high ground that catches the eye.

Where the name comes from

The name is Turkish in origin and means “black broadcloth”, a dark woollen cloak. Maps also spell it Qaratshuk or Qertşuk.

What the mountain is made of

Karachok is an anticline, a structure where the rock layers have been folded upwards into an arch. Its top is capped with basalt. Beneath lie sedimentary layers of the Neogene — sandstone, clay and gravel — with gypsum and limestone exposed along the flanks. The northern slopes fall more gently than the southern ones, and many of the valleys that run north drain into the Tigris.

Oil and forest

Oil was found in the southern foothills, and the Karachok field became the starting point of the region’s oil history. The directorate of the Rmelan oilfields has planted a new pine forest on the slopes. A radio and television transmitter stands on the summit.

Don’t miss

The two old Atlas pistachio trees (Pistacia atlantica, known locally as butm). They are the mountain’s best-known natural landmarks and hold a special place in local folklore. Their exact location and age are not something this page can confirm; ask in al-Malikiyah.

Approaching it today

There is a transmitter on the summit and oil installations in the foothills, and in 2022 air strikes on targets on the mountain made the news. Whether civilians can go up to the summit or onto the slopes today has not been confirmed. Keep away from the installations, do not photograph them, and ask locally in al-Malikiyah before heading up.

You do not need to climb it to see it. The road from Qamishli through al-Malikiyah to the Ain Diwar bridge runs north of the ridge, and on the flat plain the mountain reads clearly from a distance.