Tabqa

Tabqa is a city in Syria's Raqqa Governorate, situated on the Euphrates River to the west of Raqqa. The city lies near the Tabqa Dam, a major hydroelectric facility that forms Lake Assad, Syria's large reservoir on the Euphrates.

The Tabqa Dam, also known as the Euphrates Dam, is an earth-and-rockfill structure completed in the early 1970s with assistance from international partners. The dam created Lake Assad, a substantial reservoir used for electricity generation and irrigation, supporting agricultural areas in northern Syria.

Historically, Tabqa has been an agricultural and trading center serving surrounding villages. The economy relies on farming connected to irrigation from Lake Assad and on services related to the dam and its operations, as well as on light industry and markets in the town.

During the Syrian civil conflict, Tabqa and the dam area were contested. The town was held by ISIS for several years after 2014, and in 2017 it was recaptured by U.S.-backed forces and allied groups in operations targeting ISIS near Raqqa, enabling continued access to the dam's resources.

Nearby facilities include the Tabqa Military Airport (Tabqa Airbase), and the landscape around the city features the open plains of the Euphrates basin and the lake created by the dam. Tabqa remains a focal point of the region's water management and infrastructure.