The Katun (, ''Katuń''; , ''Kadın'') is a river in the
Altai Republic and the
Altai Krai of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
. It forms the
Ob as it joins the
Biya some southwest of
Biysk
Biysk ( rus, Бийск, p=bʲijsk) is a city in Altai Krai, Russia, located on the Biya River not far from its confluence with the Katun River. It is the second largest city of the krai (after Barnaul, the administrative center of the krai). Popu ...
.
Катунь
Great Soviet Encyclopedia
The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...
The Katun is long, and its drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
covers .[, erroneously named "БИЯ"] It originates in the Katun glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...
s on the southwestern slope of Belukha Mountain. The river freezes up in late November or early December and breaks up in early or mid-April. The main tributaries of the Katun are, from source to mouth: Koksa (left), Kucherla (right), Argut
The Argut (; alt, Аркыт, ''Arkıt'') is a river in central Altai Republic, a right tributary of Katun. Upstream from its confluence with the Dzhazator, it is called ''Akalakha''.
Geography
The Argut is long (including Akalakha), and has ...
(right), Chuya
The Chuya (russian: Чуя; alt, Чуй, ''Çuy'') is a river in the Altai Republic in Russia, a right tributary of the Katun ( Ob's basin). The Chuya is long, and its drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing ...
(right), Ursul (left), Sema (left) and Isha (right). The river is navigable.
In its upper reach of the Katun flows down the distant and sparsely populated area, but a few kilometers downstream near the village Kuyus
Kuyus (russian: Куюс; alt, Куйус, ''Kuyus'') is a rural locality (a selo) and the administrative centre of Kuyusskoye Rural Settlement of Chemalsky District, the Altai Republic, Russia. The population was 210 as of 2016. There are 6 str ...
, the coastal population density grows steadily and the area downstream of the village Ust-Sema
Ust-Sema (russian: Усть-Сема; alt, Себи-Оозы, ''Sebi-Oozı'') is a rural locality (a selo) in Cheposhskoye Rural Settlement of Chemalsky District, the Altai Republic, Russia. The population was 402 as of 2016. There are 15 street ...
is the most populated. There are numerous buildings, holiday camps and various guest houses in the pine forest near the village. The main settlements along the Katun are, from source to mouth: Ust-Koksa, Katanda Katanda may refer to:
* Katanda, Russia, a locality in the Altai Republic
*In the Democratic Republic of the Congo:
** Katanda Territory, an administrative division of Kasaï-Oriental province
*** Katanda, the town that is its administrative cente ...
, Inya, Chemal
Chemal (russian: Чемал, ''Chemal''; alt, Чамал, ''Çamal'') is a rural locality (a selo) and the administrative center of Chemalsky District of the Altai Republic, Russia. Population:
Climate
Chemal has a warm-summer humid continenta ...
, Manzherok, Souzga, Aya, Mayma, Srostki and Verkh-Katunskoye.
See also
*Altai flood
The Altai flood refers to the cataclysmic flood(s) that, according to some geomorphologists, swept along the Katun River in the Altai Republic at the end of the last ice age. These glacial lake outburst floods were the result of periodic sudd ...
References
Rivers of Altai Krai
Rivers of the Altai Republic
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