The Angara (
Buryat and mn, Ангар, ''Angar'',
"Cleft"; russian: Ангара́, ''Angará'') is a major river in
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
, which traces a course through
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 ...
's
Irkutsk Oblast
Irkutsk Oblast (russian: Ирку́тская о́бласть, Irkutskaya oblast; bua, Эрхүү можо, Erkhüü mojo) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in southeastern Siberia in the basins of the Angara, Lena, and N ...
and
Krasnoyarsk Krai
Krasnoyarsk Krai ( rus, Красноя́рский край, r=Krasnoyarskiy kray, p=krəsnɐˈjarskʲɪj ˈkraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), with its administrative center in the city of Krasnoyarsk, the third-largest city in Si ...
. It drains out of
Lake Baikal and is the
headwater tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...
of the
Yenisey
The Yenisey (russian: Енисе́й, ''Yeniséy''; mn, Горлог мөрөн, ''Gorlog mörön''; Buryat: Горлог мүрэн, ''Gorlog müren''; Tuvan: Улуг-Хем, ''Uluğ-Hem''; Khakas: Ким суғ, ''Kim suğ''; Ket: Ӄук, ...
. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .
It was formerly known as the Lower or Nizhnyaya Angara (distinguishing it from the
Upper Angara
The Upper Angara (, ''Verkhnyaya Angara''; , ''Deede Angar'') is a river in Buryatia, Siberia to the northeast of Lake Baikal. the third longest river in the Baikal basin. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .
The Baikal–Amur Mainline run ...
). Below its junction with the
Ilim
The Ilim (russian: Илим) is a river in Irkutsk Oblast in Russia, a right tributary of the Angara. It flows north between and parallel to the rivers Angara and Lena River, Lena, and then swings west to join the Angara south of Ust-Ilimsk.
Geo ...
, it was formerly known as the Upper Tunguska (russian: Верхняя Тунгуска, ''Verkhnyaya Tunguska'', distinguishing it from the
Lower Tunguska
The Nizhnyaya Tunguska ( rus, Ни́жняя Тунгу́ска, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪjə tʊnˈɡuskə, meaning "Lower Tunguska") is a river in Siberia, Russia, that flows through the Irkutsk Oblast and the Krasnoyarsk Krai. The river is a right trib ...
) and, with the names reversed, as the Lower Tunguska.
Course
Leaving Lake Baikal near the settlement of
Listvyanka, the Angara flows north past the Irkutsk Oblast cities of
Irkutsk,
Angarsk
Angarsk ( rus, Ангарск, p=ɐnˈgarsk) is a city and the administrative center of Angarsky District of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Kitoy River, from Irkutsk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population:
History
It wa ...
,
Bratsk, and
Ust-Ilimsk
Ust-Ilimsk ( rus, Усть-Илимск, p=usʲtʲ ɪˈlʲimsk) is a town in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Angara River. Population: 53,000 (1977).
History
An '' ostrog'' (fortress) was built on the present site of the town in the ...
. It then crosses the
Angara Range
The Angara Range (russian: Ангарский кряж) is a mountain range in Krasnoyarsk Krai and Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, part of the Central Siberian Plateau.Google Earth
There are large iron ore deposits in the area of the Angara Range.
Geo ...
and turns west, entering Krasnoyarsk Krai, and joining the Yenisey near
Strelka, south-east of
Lesosibirsk.
Dams and reservoirs
![Bratsk hydropower station 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Bratsk_hydropower_station_3.jpg)
Four dams of major hydroelectric plants - constructed since the 1950s - exploit the waters of the Angara:
*
Irkutsk Dam, forming the
Irkutsk Reservoir
Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat and mn, Эрхүү, ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 617,473 as of the 2010 Census, Irkutsk is the 25th-larges ...
, which floods the valley of the river from its source to Irkutsk, and slightly raises the water level in Lake Baikal
*
Bratsk Dam, forming the
Bratsk Reservoir
Bratsk Reservoir (russian: Бра́тское водохрани́лище, ''Bratskoye Reservoir'') is a reservoir on the Angara River, located in the Lena-Angara Plateau of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. It is named after the city of Bratsk, the larges ...
*
Ust-Ilimsk Dam, at
Ust-Ilimsk
Ust-Ilimsk ( rus, Усть-Илимск, p=usʲtʲ ɪˈlʲimsk) is a town in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Angara River. Population: 53,000 (1977).
History
An '' ostrog'' (fortress) was built on the present site of the town in the ...
, forming the Ust-Ilimsk Reservoir
*
Boguchany Dam
The Boguchany Dam (russian: Богучанская ГЭС) is a large hydroelectric dam on the Angara River in Kodinsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It has an installed capacity of 2,997 MW. Construction of the power plant was completed when a n ...
, at
Kodinsk
Kodinsk (russian: Коди́нск) is a town and the administrative center of Kezhemsky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on the Angara River, north of Krasnoyarsk. Population:
History
It was founded in 1977 as the settlement of Ko ...
The reservoirs of these dams flooded a number of villages along the Angara and its tributaries (including the historic fort of
Ilimsk on 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 writer
Valentin Rasputin
Valentin Grigoriyevich Rasputin (; russian: Валентин Григорьевич Распутин; 15 March 193714 March 2015) was a Russian writer. He was born and lived much of his life in the Irkutsk Oblast in Eastern Siberia. Rasputin's w ...
- both in his novel ''
Farewell to Matyora
''Farewell to Matyora'' (russian: Прощание с Матёрой) is a 1976 novel by Valentin Rasputin. The novel treats Rasputin's major theme of the baneful impact of industrialization and urbanization on peasant
A peasant is a pre-in ...
'' (1976) and in his non-fiction book ''
Siberia, Siberia'' (1991).
Navigation
![Angara-Lake Baikal 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Angara-Lake_Baikal_1.JPG)
The Angara is navigable by modern watercraft on several isolated sections:
* 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 a
ship lock
A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water lev ...
or a
boat lift
A boat lift, ship lift, or lift lock is a machine for transporting boats between water at two different elevations, and is an alternative to the canal lock.
It may be vertically moving, like the Anderton boat lift in England, rotational, like ...
, nor will the Boguchany Dam have one.
![Kitchen-21-Russia-Angara-2815](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Kitchen-21-Russia-Angara-2815.jpg)
Despite the absence of a continuous navigable waterway, the Angara and its tributary the
Ilim
The Ilim (russian: Илим) is a river in Irkutsk Oblast in Russia, a right tributary of the Angara. It flows north between and parallel to the rivers Angara and Lena River, Lena, and then swings west to join the Angara south of Ust-Ilimsk.
Geo ...
were of considerable importance for Russian colonization of Siberia since ca. 1630, when they (and the necessary portages) formed
important water routes connecting the Yenisey with Lake Baikal and the
Lena
Lena or LENA may refer to:
Places
* Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso
* Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada
* Lena, Norway, a village in ...
. The river lost its transportation significance after the construction of an overland route between
Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk ( ; rus, Красноя́рск, a=Ru-Красноярск2.ogg, p=krəsnɐˈjarsk) (in semantic translation - Red Ravine City) is the largest city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yeni ...
and
Irkutsk and, later, the
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR; , , ) connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the ea ...
.
Tributaries
The largest tributaries of the Angara are, from source to mouth:
[Ангара]
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 ...
*
Irkut (left)
*
Kitoy
The Kitoy (, ) is a river in Buryatia and Irkutsk Oblast in Russia, a left tributary of the Angara. The length of the river is 316 km. The area of its basin is 9,190 km². The Kitoy freezes up in the second half of October and stays iceb ...
(left)
*
Belaya (left)
*
Oka
Oka or OKA may refer to:
Cars
* Oka (automobile), a small car designed by AvtoVAZ and produced by ZMA and SeAZ
* OKA 4wd, a large 4-wheel-drive vehicle made in Western Australia by OKA
Military
* 2B1 Oka, Soviet 420 mm self-propelled mor ...
(left)
*
Iya (left)
*
Ilim
The Ilim (russian: Илим) is a river in Irkutsk Oblast in Russia, a right tributary of the Angara. It flows north between and parallel to the rivers Angara and Lena River, Lena, and then swings west to join the Angara south of Ust-Ilimsk.
Geo ...
(right)
*
Kova (left)
*
Koda
KODA (99.1 FM, "Sunny 99.1") is an American commercial adult contemporary-formatted radio station in Houston, Texas. The station is owned by iHeartMedia. Its studios and offices are located along the West Loop Freeway in Uptown Houston.
KODA ...
(right)
*
Chadobets (right)
*
Mura (left)
*
Irkeneyeva (right)
*
Taseyeva (left)
See also
*
List of rivers of Russia
Russia can be divided into a European and an Asian part. The dividing line is generally considered to be the Ural Mountains. The European part is drained into the Arctic Ocean, Baltic Sea, Black Sea, and Caspian Sea. The Asian part is drain ...
*
Lena-Angara Plateau
The Lena-Angara Plateau ( rus, Лено-Ангарское плато), is a plateau in Siberia. Administratively it is in the Irkutsk Oblast, Russian Federation. The plateau is named after the Lena and Angara rivers, of which it forms the waters ...
*
Yenisey Range
The Yenisey Range (russian: Енисейский кряж) is a range of mountains in Siberia. Administratively the range is part of the Krasnoyarsk Krai of the Russian Federation. The nearest town is Severo-Yeniseysk.
The mountains have granite ...
References
Citations
Bibliography
* .
External links
Angara River, southeast-central RussiaMap of region showing mouth of Angara RiverMap book of region showing mouth of Angara River
{{Authority control
Rivers of Irkutsk Oblast
Rivers of Krasnoyarsk Krai
Articles containing video clips