Siberian river Irtysh source, pool, type of nutrition, water regime, fish

The Irtysh river flows through the territory of China, Kazakhstan and Russia. The Irtysh is the left, main tributary of the Ob. The Irtysh River belongs to the Ob River basin and the Kara Sea basin of the Arctic Ocean. The economic use of the Irtysh River is extremely intensive and the fish of the Irtysh have recently significantly changed their species composition.

 

Content

• Length of the Irtysh River
• Source of the Irtysh River
• Irtysh River in China
• Irtysh River in Kazakhstan
• Irtysh River in Russia
• The predominant type of feeding of the Irtysh River
• Regime of the Irtysh River
• Irtysh River Basin
• What kind of fish is in the Irtysh
• Tributaries of the Irtysh River
• Economic use of the Irtysh River
• Hydroelectric power station on the Irtysh River
• Environmental problems of the Irtysh River
• Nature of the Irtysh river

 

Length of the Irtysh River

The length of the Irtysh is 4248 km, which exceeds the length of the Ob itself. The Irtysh, together with the Ob, is the longest watercourse in Russia, the second longest in Asia and the sixth in the world (the length of the Ob and Irtysh is 5410 km). The Irtysh is the largest tributary of the Ob River, the length of the Irtysh River is 4248 km, the Irtysh flows through the territory of China where it is called the Black Irtysh (the length of the Irtysh River in China is approximately 512 km), Kazakhstan (the length of the Irtysh River in Kazakhstan is approximately 1696 km) and Russia (the length The Irtysh River in Russia is approximately 2040 km).

Source of the Irtysh River

Where is the source of the Irtysh River? The source of the Irtysh River is located on the border of Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China, the source of the Irtysh is located on the icy eastern slopes of the Mongolian Altai ridge. The height of the source of the Irtysh River is 2500 meters above sea level. You may come across the question - in the territory of which country is the source of the Irtysh River located? The answer is simple: the sources of the Irtysh River are in China.

Irtysh River in China

The Irtysh river flows through the territory of China. Of the total length of the Irtysh River, more than 4 thousand km in China, the length of the Irtysh is approximately 618 km. The Irtysh river flowing through the territory of China at the beginning has the name Ku-Irtys, after the confluence of the Ulkun and Kayrty rivers it acquires the name Kara-Irtsys. Within China, the river The Kara-Irtsys receives a number of tributaries: Dzhelty, Burguni Kaba. The amount of precipitation in the mountainous part of the Irtysh catchment area is high, and therefore approximately a third of the annual flow of the Irtysh River is formed here - approximately 8-10 cubic km/year. In order to develop a number of arid territories, China plans to build a 250-kilometer-long canal to transfer part of the Black Irtysh water through a 90-kilometer-long canal to Lake Ulyungur; from this lake, water will be supplied to the city of Karamay through pipelines 250 km long. Initially, water withdrawal from the Irtysh should be at the level of 1 cubic meter. km/year and in the future reach 4 cubic km/year or even more. Thus, China has done what scientists have been periodically talking about for many decades - to transfer part of the waters of Siberian rivers to the Aral Sea basin, to compensate for the volume of water taken from the Syr Darya and Amu Darya. The Irtysh is the only river in Dzungaria that flows into the ocean. The Irtysh flows before it flows into Lake Zaisan, preserving the features of a mountain river. The right bank of the Black Irtysh is quite steep and steep, the left bank is softly framed by sandy beaches. The floodplain of the Black Irtysh River is densely planted with poplar and shrubs, and there are extensive wetlands in the immediate vicinity of the border with Kazakhstan.

Irtysh River in Kazakhstan

From China, under the name Black Irtysh, the Irtysh ends up in Kazakhstan. The Irtysh river flows through the territory of Kazakhstan, passes through the Zaisan depression, and flows into the flowing lake Zaisan. The Zaisan plain is framed from the south by the Altai mountain system with the Listvyaga, Khalzun and Tigiretsky ridges. From the west, the basin of the Irtysh River in Kazakhstan is limited by the Tarbagatai and Kalba ranges. In the northern part of the Irtysh River basin there is the Kokchetav Upland, which is the northern outskirts of Central Kazakhstan, which is called the Kazakh small hills.

At the mouth of the Black Irtysh there is a large delta. Many rivers flow into Zaisan from Rudny Altai, the Tarbagatai and Saur ridges. Repeatedly strengthened by these waters, the Irtysh flows from Lake Zaisan to the northwest through the Bukhtarminskaya hydroelectric power station, the city of Serebryansk and next to it the located Ust-Kamenogorsk hydroelectric power station. Just above Pavlodar, the Irtysh water is taken by the Irtysh-Karaganda canal, flowing to the west.

The Irtysh enters Kazakhstan as a navigable river, with an average monthly water flow of approximately 300 m3/sec. The total length of the Irtysh River is 4280 km, including the length of the Irtysh River within Kazakhstan, i.e. the length of the Irtysh in Kazakhstan is 1698 km. The catchment area of the Irtysh River on the Kazakhstan-Russia border is 544,000 km2. The nutrition of the Irtysh River in Kazakhstan is mixed, with a predominance of snow. Rain nutrition of the Irtysh does not exceed 15...20%.

 

Where is Irtysh located in Kazakhstan. - Location of the Irtysh River basin in Kazakhstan

Within Kazakhstan on the Irtysh, the river flow is regulated by a cascade of Irtysh reservoirs - Bukhtarminskoye (design volume 49.6 km3), Ust-Kamenogorskoye (0.66 km3) and Shulbinskoye (2.39 km3).

Where is Irtysh located in Kazakhstan. Below Semipalatinsk, the Irtysh enters the steppes of the West Siberian Plain. Throughout its entire length from Semipalatinsk to Omsk, the Irtysh has no significant tributaries. Many small rivers flowing from the slopes of the Kazakh small hills in the direction of the Irtysh are lost in the lakes before reaching the river. Below the city of Semipalatinsk, the Irtysh flows along the edge of the Kazakh folded country and along the West Siberian Plain. In this section, the river has a meandering character, often split into branches by islands, forming separate channels. Individual branches flow parallel to the Irtysh for several tens of kilometers. The wide floodplain of the river is replete with oxbow lakes, lakes, and wetlands. The width of the river up to Pavlodar does not exceed 200 m; below the river bed widens, in some places reaching 900 m.

Irtysh River in Russia

The Irtysh River flows through the territory of Russia; the length of the Irtysh in Russia is 2010 km. In the region of Khanty-Mansiysk, the Irtysh flows into the Ob.

In the section from Omsk to Tobolsk, the Irtysh River receives a number of large tributaries: the right tributaries of the Irtysh River are Om, Tara, Uy, Shish, Tui, the left tributaries of the Irtysh River are Osha, Ishim, Vagai; and the Irtysh becomes a powerful river.

On the right, the valley of the Irtysh River is limited by a high ravine. Behind the edge of the main bank there are vast forest spaces, which in some places are very swampy. On the left side, the river valley gradually merges with the plain. The floodplain of the Irtysh River is wide - up to 6-8 km. The high ravines that approach the Irtysh are cut by deep ravines.

The river bed is variable, especially in shallow areas. The river bed is covered with sandy and clayey soils. The depths of the Irtysh on the rifts are about 2 m during low-water periods. On the reaches the depths reach 6-15 meters, and in the waters they can exceed 35 meters. The width of the river here ranges from 500 to 1000 meters.

After the confluence of the Tobol, the Irtysh River receives tributaries on the right - Turgas, Demyanka, and on the left - Noska, Alymka and Konda. The width of the Irtysh near the city of Tobolsk is 600-800 meters, the depth of the riverbed is 6-10 meters.

Below the city of Tobolsk, the Irtysh flows through a wide valley, which is limited on both sides by ridges, diverging 10-20 km. The ridge of the right bank comes close to the river itself and accompanies it for several kilometers in the form of steep ravines up to 60 meters high. Most of these ravines are washed away by the Irtysh, collapse and slide into the river, forming shallows and capes. The closer to the Ob, the Irtysh valley gradually expands, reaching 30-35 km, eventually merging with the Ob valley. The Lower Irtysh in many places is divided into separate branches, forming large islands between them. During the spring flood, the Irtysh River often changes its course, leaving a large number of narrow and long oxbow lakes in the floodplain. As a result of the movement of the channel, the Irtysh comes closer to the right main bank, while greatly destroying it.

The Russian part of the Irtysh River basin is located on the territory of the Kurgan, Omsk, Tyumen, Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk, Novosibirsk regions and the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug. A small part of the Irtysh River basin is located within the Perm Territory and Bashkortostan. In the Irtysh River basin, the largest industrial and agricultural complex has been created with a high level of territory development, characterized by developed sectors of material production, scientific and technical potential, and the presence of a material and raw material base. There are 80 cities, 68 urban-type settlements, and 6,635 rural settlements located here.

The predominant type of feeding of the Irtysh River

The type of feeding of the Irtysh River is mixed: in the upper reaches where the source of the Irtysh River is located, the feeding of the river is snow, glacial and less rain; in the lower reaches there is snow, rain and soil. The nature of the water regime also changes significantly. Let's look at the nutrition and regime of the Irtysh River in more detail.

In the mountainous part of the basin, significant sources of nutrition for the Irtysh River are mountain snow and glaciers. As it moves into the plains, the Irtysh River’s food sources increase due to seasonal snow. In the lower reaches, the importance of snow feeding of the Irtysh River in the feeding of the Irtysh River increases even more, along with the acquisition of a noticeable role by rain runoff from the eastern slopes of the Ural ridge.

Regime of the Irtysh River

 

Type of water regime of the Irtysh River. The nature of the water regime of the Irtysh River is very diverse. The nature of the water regime undergoes significant changes along the length of the river. In the upper part of the flow, the regime of the Irtysh bears clearly expressed features of the Altai type. Here, in early April, a sharp rise in water levels begins, often aggravated by jams. The flood is long-lasting, due to the different times of melting of mountain snow at different altitudes and due to significant fluctuations in the levels of reservoirs in the summer. In some years, summer floods may exceed the intensity of spring floods. The decline of floods extends until October, when relatively small rises in water levels occur under the influence of autumn rains. At the beginning of freeze-up, the level of the Irtysh rises slightly, but soon falls again , remaining minimal until the spring flood.

When the river passes into the steppe zone, seasonal fluctuations in the level of the Irtysh gradually smooth out. The regime of the Irtysh River acquires clearly expressed features of the West Siberian type of water regime. The spring flood extends until late autumn, high levels continue for more than 2 months, and the influence of rain floods becomes unnoticeable.

Annual amplitudes of levels vary quite significantly along the length of the river. In the upper part of the river, near the village of Gusinoye, the annual amplitude does not exceed 3 m. As you move downstream of the Irtysh and its water content increases, the amplitude increases, reaching values of 1.82 m near the village of Semiyarskoye. Further, the range of seasonal fluctuations in water levels reaches 11.21 m near the village of Ust-Ishima.

The main part of the runoff, about 50%, is carried by the Irtysh in the spring. In the upper part of the river, the shares of summer and autumn runoff are almost equal to each other (20%), in the lower (Tobolsk) summer runoff is 27%, and autumn runoff is 19% of the annual runoff. Winter runoff near the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk is 10%, near the city of Tobolsk - 7%. The variability of the Irtysh's annual flow increases downstream. The coefficient of variation of annual expenditures of the Irtysh near the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk is 0.21, and near the city of Tobolsk - 0.26.

Autumn ice drift in the upper reaches of the Irtysh occurs in early November, and in the lower reaches - at the end of October. The duration of autumn ice drift takes from 3 to 12 days. Freeze-up occurs in the lower reaches in early November, and in the upper reaches in mid-November. The formation of deep ice and slush is observed throughout the river. On riffles and sharp turns of the river, slush often forms congestion, which entails a rise in levels, and in some cases, the formation of ice dams. On the Ust-Kamenogorsk – Semipalatinsk section, ice deposits appear annually. The opening of the Irtysh River in the upper reaches occurs in mid-April, in the lower reaches at the end of April. Spring ice drift usually lasts from 2 to 9 days. The opening of the river in many areas is accompanied by congestion.

Winter low water is stable, the average duration is 130...150 days. The regime of the Irtysh River in winter depends on the regime of water discharge from hydraulic structures in the upper reaches of the Black Irtysh. The average flow rate near Ust-Kamenogorsk is 628 m³/s, Semey is about 960 m³/s, Omsk is 917 m³/s, Tobolsk is 2150 m³/s, at the mouth of the Irtysh is about 3000 m³/s, the annual flow of the Irtysh is about 95 km³. The range of level fluctuations above Lake Zaisan is 4.4 m, near Omsk - 7 m, Ust-Ishim - 12.7 m, and decreases towards the mouth of the Irtysh.

Irtysh River Basin

Irtysh River basin of the Ob River. The Irtysh River is the largest left tributary of the Ob River. The Irtysh and Ob rivers together form the Ob-Irtysh basin. The total area of the Irtysh River basin is 1,643,000 km². The slope of the Irtysh River is about 0.03 m per kilometer. Which river basin does the Irtysh belong to? The Irtysh River belongs to the Kara Sea basin of the Arctic Ocean.

The Irtysh River basin can be described as follows. The upper part of the Irtysh River basin is located in the Altai Mountains, where vertical zoning is clearly visible. However, the main drainage area of the Irtysh River is located mainly in the steppe and forest-steppe, and a small part of the right bank in the lower reaches is in the taiga.

The river network of the Irtysh basin is characterized by a complex structure and uneven distribution. The mountainous part of the Irtysh basin has a dense and well-developed river network. At the same time, downstream, after the confluence of the Char on the left and the Chagan on the right, not a single significant tributary flows into the Irtysh until the mouth of the Om. This area is characterized by an underdeveloped river network, an abundance of Lakes and an almost complete absence of rivers in the strips adjacent directly to the Irtysh valley. The drainage region of the right bank of the Irtysh ends with the Omi basin, below which the Irtysh receives a number of small tributaries. The right bank part of the Irtysh River basin, below the confluence of the Tara, is an area with a fairly dense river network, located mostly in forested, heavily swampy taiga.

 

Administrative division of the territory of the Irtysh basin

Freeze-up on the Irtysh is preceded by ice drift lasting about 20 days in the upper reaches and 6-10 days in the lower reaches. The Irtysh freezes in the upper reaches at the end of November, in the lower reaches at the beginning of November, and opens in April.

What kind of fish is in the Irtysh

What kind of fish is found in the Irtysh? The Irtysh River is rich in fish. The significant length of the Irtysh River along with various natural and climatic landscapes (mountain, steppe, plain and taiga) contributed to the wide variety of fish living in the Irtysh.

Fish in the Irtysh species - fish living in the Irtysh belong to the following families: salmon, sturgeon, pike, whitefish, carp, burbot, loach, perch, stickleback and lamprey.

Fishes living in the Irtysh. The Irtysh is home to representatives of sturgeons (Siberian sturgeon, sterlet), whitefish (Coregoninae) (selma, muksun, Siberian vendace), cyprinids (ide, carp, bream, roach, rudd, dace, silver and golden carp, etc.), pike ( pike), perch (perch, pike perch, ruff ), burbot (burbot).

In the second half of the 20th - early 21st centuries. The fish of the Irtysh have undergone significant changes as a result of anthropogenic impact. Regulation of the river flow by a cascade of reservoirs led to the loss of spawning grounds for semi-anadromous fish species of the Irtysh (Siberian sturgeon, nelma), located in Kazakhstan, and to a reduction in the spawning and feeding areas of aquatic fish species of the Irtysh (sterlet, roach, ide, pike, perch, etc.) in borders of the Omsk region. The deterioration of reproduction conditions and the increase in the number of alien fish species in the Irtysh (bream, pike perch) led to a reduction in the stocks of native fish species - roach and pike, which previously dominated. What kind of fish is found in the Irtysh is also influenced by water pollution, an increase in fishing pressure in the form of poaching, which contributes to a further decrease in the number of sturgeon and nelma. In conditions of declining numbers of valuable commercial fish, the Irtysh River is gradually transforming into a small-particle reservoir. It is necessary to take measures for the artificial reproduction of valuable fish species.

Tributaries of the Irtysh River

 

Within China, the tributaries of the Irtysh River are Ulkun, Kayrty, Dzhelty, Burguni Kaba.

Tributaries of the Irtysh in Kazakhstan. Within Kazakhstan, the tributaries of the Irtysh River are quite numerous, of which the main ones are: Okurt, Kamer, Kran, Burchum and the high-water Kalzhir, flowing from Lake Marka-Kul. A number of large rivers flow into the Bukhtarma Reservoir: Kurchum, Narym, Bukhtarma, Bolshaya Bukon, Tainty. At the river's exit from the mountains, two more large right-bank tributaries flow into the Irtysh - the Ulba and Uba rivers.

The right tributaries of the Irtysh, flowing from the slopes of the Southern Altai, are high-water rivers - Karairty, Kurty, Goluboy Irtysh, Kran, Burchun, Kaba, etc., the left tributaries are few in number, less high-water and dry up during the low-water period.

Below the Shulbinskaya hydroelectric station to the city of Omsk, the Irtysh has no tributaries.

Tributaries of the Irtysh in Russia: in the section from the city of Omsk to the city of Tobolsk, large tributaries flow into the Irtysh River: the right tributaries of the Irtysh River - Om, Tara, Uy, Shish, Tui, the left tributaries of the Irtysh River - Osha, Ishim, Vagai;

After the confluence of the Tobol, the Irtysh River receives tributaries on the right - Turgas, Demyanka, and on the left - Noska, Alymka and Konda.

Economic use of the Irtysh River

The economic uses of the Irtysh are very diverse. The waters of the Irtysh are used to feed the Irtysh-Karaganda canal (water intake from the Irtysh into the canal averages 75 m³/s (2.4 km³/year)), for water supply and irrigation. For the sake of developing a number of arid territories, China is also building canals that will take water from the Irtysh at a level of 1 - 4 cubic meters. km/year or even more. The economic use of the Irtysh is not limited to water abstraction for other regions and irrigation.

Regular navigation on the Irtysh for 3784 km from the downstream of the Ust-Kamenogorsk hydroelectric power station to the mouth. Navigation on the Irtysh from April to November.

Multi-day passenger routes are operated on the Omsk - Salekhard lines (via Tobolsk and Khanty-Mansiysk). During the three-month navigation period, the motor ships “Chernyshevsky” and “Rodina” sail along this route. Today, this is one of the few surviving river passenger routes in Russia. In the future, the possibilities for economic use of the Irtysh River for navigation can be significantly increased.

In the Irtysh River basin, the largest industrial-agrarian complex has been created with a well-developed territory characterized by developed industries that consume a lot of water. This is the main economic use of the Irtysh River. There are 80 cities, 68 urban-type settlements, and 6,635 rural settlements located here.

 

Water resource deficit for a year with 95% supply at the current level of water consumption

Hydroelectric power station on the Irtysh River

Below Lake Zaisan on the Irtysh, the Irtysh cascade of hydroelectric power stations was built, which includes the Bukhtarminskaya, Ust-Kamenogorsk and Shulbinskaya hydroelectric power stations.

In 2010, a project was developed for the construction of a low-pressure dam north of Omsk - the Krasnogorsk hydroelectric complex. The project is being implemented under the target program of the Omsk region “Construction of the Krasnogorsk water-lifting hydroelectric complex on the Irtysh River.”

Environmental problems of the Irtysh River

The Irtysh River is assessed as very dirty: the content of harmful substances in the water can exceed the maximum permissible concentration from 4 to 100 times. The river constantly contains petroleum products, phenols, and synthetically active substances. We have to note the annual increase in the discharge of untreated water and massive releases of oil due to accidents in the fields and during the transportation of petroleum products.

The degree of pollution of the most important tributaries of the Irtysh varies. The Ishim River belongs to the category of “moderately polluted.” The content of nitrogen, iron, copper and petroleum products ions in the river water is MPC units. At the same time, in the Tobol River there is a significant excess of the MPC for nitrogen-containing substances, phosphates, fluorides, petroleum products, iron, manganese, mineral suspensions. In the Ture River there is a concentration of pollutants, primarily phenol and petroleum products.

Serious environmental threat The concern for the Irtysh River was the possibility of mercury contamination of the river.

In the city of Pavlodar, JSC Khimprom in Kazakhstan previously operated a production facility where a feature of the technology used was that metallic mercury was used for electrolysis. Technological losses of mercury have led to the fact that the territory of the plant is contaminated with mercury. Despite the cessation of production, the amount of mercury at a depth of 4 m is estimated at 10-12 tons, another 1025 tons are distributed under the building of the electrolysis workshop, distributed to a depth of up to 20 meters. This leads to contamination of groundwater with mercury. The lake has the largest area of up to 25 km2 and the volume of accumulated runoff. Bylkyldak; its negative impact on nature is noticeable within a radius of 5-6 km. The lake, located in the valley of the Irtysh River, poses a real threat of mercury contamination of the waters of the Irtysh River and the groundwater of drinking water. The direction of flow of contaminated groundwater from Lake Bylkyldak is observed towards the Irtysh. Work is underway to address this problem with good prospects for a positive solution to the problem of mercury in water.

A big problem is created by the decrease in the flow of the Irtysh - partly due to water withdrawal for irrigation, partly due to climate change, which is expressed in increased evaporation from the Irtysh tributaries.

Nature of the Irtysh river

Along the Irtysh and in its environs there are a large number of natural monuments, historical monuments and architectural monuments, objects of ecological and geological tourism. In the Pavlodar region, on the banks of the Irtysh, there is a unique paleontological monument “Goose Flight”. In Omsk, on the left bank of the Irtysh, there is the Bird Harbor natural park, which is located on the bird migration route.