The Vakh () is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

Khanty–Mansia Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra (Russian and Mansi: Ханты-Мансийский автономный округ — Югра, ''Khanty-Mansiysky avtonomny okrug — Yugra;'' Khanty: Хӑнты-Мансийской Aвтономной � ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. It is a right

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 drainage ...

of the Ob. The Vakh is long with a basin area of . The river is a status B

Ramsar wetland The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It i ...

, nominated for designation as a Wetland of International Importance in 2000.

Course

Its source is near the drainage basins of the

Yenisei The Yenisey (russian: Енисе́й, ''Yeniséy''; mn, Горлог мөрөн, ''Gorlog mörön''; Buryat language, Buryat: Горлог мүрэн, ''Gorlog müren''; Tuvan language, Tuvan: Улуг-Хем, ''Uluğ-Hem''; Khakas language, K ...

and the

Taz Taz or TAZ may refer to: Geography *Taz (river), a river in western Siberia, Russia *Taz Estuary, the estuary of the river Taz in Russia People * Taz people, an ethnic group in Russia ** Taz language, a form of Northeastern Mandarin spoken by ...

. Since the Vakh, like the Ket, flows from east to west, it was an important early transportation route. A short portage connects its headwaters to the Sym, which flows into the Yenisei. To the northeast lies the basin of the

Vatinsky Yogan The Vatinsky Yogan (russian: Ватинский Ёган) is a river in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia. The river is long and has a catchment area of . The Vatinsky Yogan flows across the Central Siberian Plateau. Its basin is located in ...

Tributaries

The Vakh's main tributaries are the Kulynigol, the Sabun, the Kolikyogan, and the Myogtygyogan. The interfluvial area between two of the Vakh tributaries, the Kolikyogan and Sabun, is a zone of raised

string bog A string bog or string mire is a bog consisting of slightly elevated ridges and islands, with woody plants, alternating with flat, wet sedge mat areas. String bogs occur on slightly sloping surfaces, with the ridges at right angles to the directio ...

s covering .

History

Early pottery from the Vakh basin, Vasyugan and Tomsk-Chulym is dominated by comb-pit decorations. An 1875 account of the people of the region said, "The Samoyedes of Southern Siberia are neighbours of the Youraks, and inhabit the Upper Taz, the Yelogouï, and the affluents of the Vakh river. They are pure Samoyedes as regards race." Russians began to significantly affect the

Khanty people The Khanty (Khanty: ханти, ''hanti''), also known in older literature as Ostyaks (russian: остяки) are a Ugric indigenous people, living in Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug, a region historically known as "Yugra" in Russia, together ...

on the Vakh river area by 1896. These people were eking out a living by hunting, fishing and selling squirrel skins. The Russians introduced tobacco and alcohol. Moral codes began breaking down, and new infectious diseases were introduced. There was a brief attempt to counter the problems through shamanistic ceremonies. Valuable horses were sacrificed, but without effect.

References

Citations Sources * * * * Rivers of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug {{Russia-river-stub