Kut

Kut, the capital of Iraq's Wasit Governorate, sits within a sharp U-shaped bend of the Tigris River that leaves the old town surrounded by water on three sides — a geography that has made it a regional hub for agriculture and river trade for centuries. The city has long been a centre of the carpet trade, and the Kut Barrage, one of Iraq's longest dams, built in the 1930s, is both a working irrigation structure and a local landmark. British and Ottoman cemeteries from a First World War battle remain in the city.

• Population315,162
• Nearest water from center2.2 km
• Nearest mountain from center11.9 km