Angara
| Angara | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Russia |
| Regions | Irkutsk Oblast,Krasnoyarsk Krai |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Lake Baikal |
| • location | Baykal,Irkutsk Oblast |
| • coordinates | 51°52′01″N104°49′05″E/ 51.867°N 104.818°E |
| • elevation | 389 m (1,276 ft) |
| Mouth | Yenisey |
• location | Lesosibirsk,Krasnoyarsk Krai |
• coordinates | 58°06′07″N92°59′28″E/ 58.102°N 92.991°E |
• elevation | 75 m (246 ft) |
| Length | 1,849 km (1,149 mi)[1]to 1,779 km (1,105 mi)[2] |
| Basin size | 1,039,000 km2(401,000 sq mi)[1]to 1,056,000 km2(408,000 sq mi)[2] |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Confluence of theYenisey(near mouth) |
| • average | 4,530 m3/s (160,000 cu ft/s) to 4,980 m3/s (176,000 cu ft/s)[2] |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Yenisey→Kara Sea |
 | |
TheAngara(Russian:Ангара́,[ənɡɐˈra];Buryat:Ангар,Angar,lit."Cleft"[citation needed]) is a major river inSiberia,which traces a course throughRussia'sIrkutsk OblastandKrasnoyarsk Krai.It drains out ofLake Baikaland is theheadwatertributaryof theYenisey.[3]It is 1,849 kilometres (1,149 mi) long, and has adrainage basinof 1,039,000 square kilometres (401,000 sq mi).[1]It was formerly known as theLowerorNizhnyaya Angara(distinguishing it from theUpper Angara).[4]Below its junction with theIlim,it was formerly known as theUpper Tunguska(Russian:Верхняя Тунгуска,Verhnyaya Tunguska,distinguishing it from theLower Tunguska)[5][6]and, with the names reversed, as theLower Tunguska.[7]
Course
[edit]Leaving Lake Baikal near the settlement ofListvyanka,the Angara flows north past the Irkutsk Oblast cities ofIrkutsk,Angarsk,Bratsk,andUst-Ilimsk.It then crosses theAngara Rangeand turns west, entering Krasnoyarsk Krai, and joining the Yenisey nearStrelka,40 kilometres (25 mi) south-east ofLesosibirsk.
Dams and reservoirs
[edit]
Four dams of major hydroelectric plants - constructed since the 1950s - exploit the waters of the Angara:
- Irkutsk Dam,forming theIrkutsk Reservoir,which floods the valley of the river from its source to Irkutsk, and slightly raises the water level in Lake Baikal
- Bratsk Dam,forming theBratsk Reservoir
- Ust-Ilimsk Dam,atUst-Ilimsk,forming the Ust-Ilimsk Reservoir
- Boguchany Dam,atKodinsk
The reservoirs of these dams flooded a number of villages along the Angara and its tributaries (including the historic fort ofIlimskon the Ilim), as well as numerous agricultural areas in the river valley. Due to its effects on the way of life of the rural residents of the Angara valley, dam construction was criticized by a number of Soviet intellectuals, in particular by the Irkutsk writerValentin Rasputin- both in his novelFarewell to Matyora(1976) and in his non-fiction bookSiberia, Siberia(1991).
Navigation
[edit]
The Angara is navigable by modern watercraft on several isolated sections:[8][9][10]
- from Lake Baikal to Irkutsk
- from Irkutsk to Bratsk
- on the Ust-Ilimsk Reservoir
- from the Boguchany Dam (Kodinsk) to the river's fall into the Yenisey.
The section between the Ust-Ilimsk Dam and the Boguchany Dam has not been navigable due to rapids. However, with the completion of the Boguchany Dam, and filling of its reservoir, at least part of this section of the river will become navigable as well. Nonetheless, this will not enable through navigation from Lake Baikal to the Yenisey, as none of the existing three dams has been provided with aship lockor aboat lift,nor will the Boguchany Dam have one.
Despite the absence of a continuous navigable waterway, the Angara and its tributary theIlimwere of considerable importance for Russian colonization of Siberia since ca. 1630, when they (and the necessary portages) formedimportant water routesconnecting the Yenisey with Lake Baikal and theLena.The river lost its transportation significance after the construction of an overland route betweenKrasnoyarskandIrkutskand, later, theTrans-Siberian Railway.
Tributaries
[edit]The largest tributaries of the Angara are, from source to mouth:[1][11]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^abcd"Река Ангара in the State Water Register of Russia".verum.wiki(in Russian).
- ^abc"Yenisey River".
- ^"Angara River".Encyclopædia Britannica Online.Retrieved2006-10-26.
- ^EB (1878).
- ^ВЕРХНЯЯ ТУНГУСКА(Verkhnyaya Tunguska, in the dictionary of Russia's place names).
- ^Tunguska,in Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia
- ^See, e.g., the 1773 Kitchen map above.
- ^"Angara River, southeast-central Russia".Archived fromthe originalon 2017-06-10.Retrieved2006-10-26.
- ^Енисейское пароходство: Ангара – судоходство и грузоперевозки(Yenisey Shipping Company: Angara — navigation and cargo shipping)(in Russian)
- ^Особенности движения и стоянки судов по внутренним водным путям Восточно-Сибирского бассейнаArchivedMarch 13, 2008, at theWayback Machine(Special navigation rules for the internal waterways of the Eastern Siberia Basin)(in Russian)
- ^Ангара,Great Soviet Encyclopedia
Bibliography
[edit]- ,Encyclopædia Britannica,vol. II (9th ed.), New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1878, p. 26.
External links
[edit]
- Angara River, southeast-central RussiaArchived2017-06-10 at theWayback Machine
- Angara River
- Angara River photo
- Map of region showing mouth of Angara River
- Map book of region showing mouth of Angara RiverArchived2016-01-09 at theWayback Machine
- Photo of river and dam
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