The Ural (russian: Урал, ), known before 1775 as Yaik (russian: Яик, ba, Яйыҡ, translit=Yayıq, ; kk, Жайық, translit=Jaiyq, ), is a river flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan in the continental border between Europe and Asia. It originates in the southern Ural Mountains and discharges into the Caspian Sea. At , it is the third-longest river in Europe after the Volga and the Danube, and the 18th-longest river in Asia. The Ural is conventionally considered part of the boundary between the continents of Europe and Asia. The Ural arises near Mount Kruglaya in the Ural Mountains, flows south parallel and west of the north-flowing Tobol, through Magnitogorsk, and around the southern end of the Urals, through Orsk where it turns west for about , to

Orenburg Orenburg (russian: Оренбу́рг, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Ural River, southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is also very close to the Kazakhstan-Russia bor ...

, where the river Sakmara joins. From Orenburg it continues west, passing into Kazakhstan, then turning south again at Oral, and meandering through a broad flat plain until it reaches the Caspian a few miles below

Atyrau Atyrau ( kk, Атырау, ', ; russian: Атырау, ), known until 1991 as Guryev (russian: Гурьев, ), is a city in Kazakhstan and the capital of Atyrau Region. Atyrau is a transcontinental city, at the mouth of the Ural River on the Cas ...

, where it forms a fine 'digitate' (tree-like)

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also re ...

.Ural River Delta, Kazakhstan
(NASA Earth Observatory)

Geography

The river begins at the slopes of the Kruglaya MountainUral River
Encyclopædia Britannica of the Uraltau mountain ridge in South Ural, on the territory of the Uchalinsky District of Bashkortostan. There it has an average width of and flows as a typical mountain river. It then falls into the Yaik Swamp and after exiting it widens up to . Below Verkhneuralsk, its flow is characteristic of a flatland river; there it enters Chelyabinsk and

Orenburg Oblast Orenburg Oblast (russian: Оренбургская область, ''Orenburgskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Orenburg. From 1938 to 1957, it bore the name ''Chkalov Oblast'' () ...

s. From Magnitogorsk to Orsk its banks are steep and rocky and the bottom has many rifts. After Orsk, the river abruptly turns west and flows through a long canyon in the Guberlinsk Mountains. After

Uralsk Uralsk (russian: Уральск) is the name of several rural localities in Russia: *Uralsk, Republic of Bashkortostan, a '' selo'' in Uralsky Selsoviet of Uchalinsky District of the Republic of Bashkortostan * Uralsk, Orenburg Oblast, a ''selo'' ...

, it flows from north to south, through the territory of West Kazakhstan Region and Atyrau Region of Kazakhstan. There, the river widens and has many lakes and ducts. Near the mouth, it splits into the Yaik and Zolotoy distributariesV. A. Balkov
Ural
(in Russian). bashedu.ru and forms vast wetlands. The Yaik distributary is shallow, with almost no trees on the shores, and is rich in fish; whereas Zolotoy is deeper and is navigable. Ural River has a spectacular tree-like (or "digitate") shape of the delta (see image). This type of delta forms naturally in the slow rivers which deliver a great deal of sediments and flow into a quiet sea. In the delta, from the mouth of the Zolotoy distributary lies Shalyga Island, which is long, with heights of and maximum widths of . The tributaries, in order going upstream, are Kushum, Derkul, Chagan, Irtek,

Utva Utva Aviation Industry (commonly known as UTVA) is a Serbian manufacturer of general aviation aircraft, subsidiary of Yugoimport SDPR, headquartered in Pančevo. History Utva was founded on 5 June 1937 in Zemun, since 1940 located in Pančev ...

Ilek Ilek (russian: Илек) is the name of several places: * Ilek (river), a tributary of the Ural in Russia and Kazakhstan * Ilek, Chelyabinsk Oblast, a ''selo'' in Ileksky Selsoviet of Ashinsky District of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia * Ilek, Kursk Ob ...

(major, left), Bolshaya Chobda, Kindel, Sakmara,

Tanalyk The Tanalyk (russian: Таналык; ba, Таналыҡ, ''Tanalıq''), is a river in Bashkortostan and Orenburg Oblast in Russia, a right tributary of the Ural.Or (major, left) and Suunduk. The entire length of the Ural River is considered the Europe-Asia boundary by most authoritative sources. "Europe" (plate 59); "Asia" (plate 74): "A commonly accepted division between Asia and Europe ... is formed by the Ural Mountains, Ural River, Caspian Sea, Caucasus Mountains, and the Black Sea with its outlets, the Bosporus and Dardanelles." Rarely, the smaller, shorter Emba River is claimed as the continental boundary, but that pushes "Europe" much further into "Central Asian" Kazakhstan. The Ural River bridge in

is even labeled with permanent monuments carved with the word "Europe" on one side, "Asia" on the other. Regardless, Kazakhstan has some European territory and is at times included in European political and sports organizations.

Hydrography

The river is mostly fed by melting snow (60–70%); the contribution of precipitation is relatively minor. Most of its annual discharge (65%) occurs during the spring floods, which occur in March and April near the mouth and in late April through June upstream; 30% drain during the summer and autumn and 5% in winter. During the floods, the river widens to above near Uralsk and to several tens of kilometers near the mouth. Water level is highest in later April upstream and in May downstream. Its fluctuation is in the upper stream, in the middle of the river and about in the delta. The average water discharge is near Orenburg, and at the Kushum village, which is from the mouth. The maximum discharge is and the minimum is . Average turbidity is at Orenburg and near Kushum. The river freezes at the source in early November and in the middle and lower reaches in late November. It opens in the lower reaches in late March and in early April in the upper reaches. The ice drift is relatively short. The average depth is near the source, and it increases in the middle reaches and especially near the mouth. The density of underwater vegetation also increases from the source to the mouth, so as the richness of the fauna. The bottom in the upper stream is rocky, with pebble and sand; it changes to silt-sand and occasionally clay downstream. The basin is asymmetrical – its left side from the river is 2.1 times larger in area than the right side; however, the right side is more important for feeding the river. The density of the tributaries is 0.29 km/km² in the right and 0.19 km/km² in the left side of the basin. The right-side tributaries are typical mountain rivers whereas the left-side tributaries have flatland character. About from the mouth there is a dangerous spot for shipping called Kruglovskaya prorva (russian: Кругловская прорва meaning Kruglovsk abyss). Here the river narrows and creates a strong vortex over a deep pit. The climate is continental with frequent and strong winds. Typical annual precipitation is .800 km on Ural River
(in Russian)Ural River
chelindustry.ru (in Russian)

Fauna

The wetlands at and near the delta of the Ural River are especially important to migrating birds as an important stop-over along the Asian flyway. They host many endemic and endangered species, such as

great white pelican The great white pelican (''Pelecanus onocrotalus'') also known as the eastern white pelican, rosy pelican or white pelican is a bird in the pelican family. It breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and Africa, in swamps and shallow lakes. ...

, Dalmatian pelican, pygmy cormorant,

cattle egret The cattle egret (''Bubulcus ibis'') is a cosmopolitan species of heron (family Ardeidae) found in the tropics, subtropics, and warm-temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Bubulcus'', although some authorities regard it ...

, little egret, greater flamingo,

white-headed duck The white-headed duck (''Oxyura leucocephala'') is a small diving duck some long. The male has a white head with black crown, a blue bill, and reddish-grey plumage. The female has a dark bill and rather duller colouring. Its breeding habitat is ...

, ferruginous duck,

Eurasian spoonbill The Eurasian spoonbill (''Platalea leucorodia''), or common spoonbill, is a wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The genus name ''Platalea'' is from Latin and means "broad", referring to the distinctive shape of the b ...

, glossy ibis,

houbara bustard The houbara bustard (''Chlamydotis undulata''), also known as African houbara, is a relatively small bustard native to North Africa, where it lives in arid habitats. The global population is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2014. ...

great black-headed gull Pallas's gull (''Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus''), also known as the great black-headed gull, is a large bird species. As is the case with many gulls, it has traditionally been placed in the genus ''Larus''. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. '' ...

, slender-billed gull, squacco heron, common crane,

demoiselle crane The demoiselle crane (''Grus virgo'') is a species of crane found in central Eurosiberia, ranging from the Black Sea to Mongolia and North Eastern China. There is also a small breeding population in Turkey. These cranes are migratory birds. Bir ...

, slender-billed curlew, black stork,

red-breasted goose The red-breasted goose (''Branta ruficollis'') is a brightly marked species of goose in the genus ''Branta'' from Eurasia. It is currently classified as vulnerable by the IUCN. Taxonomy and etymology The red-breasted goose is sometimes placed ...

, lesser white-fronted goose, lesser kestrel, whooper swan, tundra swan, osprey, pallid harrier,

short-toed eagle The short-toed snake eagle (''Circaetus gallicus''), also known as the short-toed eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers. The genus na ...

and many others. The pygmy cormorant was observed sporadically before 1999 and more regularly after that. Cattle egret is observed since 1990 between April and September (as most other migratory birds in this area), with the total population of several dozen couples. It feeds on frogs, mollusks and small fish.Фауна: Дельта реки Урал и прилегающее побережье Каспийского моря
wetlands.kz. (Fauna of the delta of Ural River, in Russian) Upstream, there are more of the resident bird species, such as grouse, wild pigeon and partridge. Ural River is also important for many fish species of the Caspian Sea which visit its delta and migrate upstream for spawning. In the lower reaches of the river there are 47 species from 13 families. The family

Cyprinidae Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest verte ...

account for 40%, sturgeon and herring make up 11%, perch and herring 9% and salmon 4.4%. The main commercial species are

sturgeon Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretace ...

roach Roach may refer to: Animals * Cockroach, various insect species of the order Blattodea * Common roach (''Rutilus rutilus''), a fresh and brackish water fish of the family Cyprinidae ** ''Rutilus'' or roaches, a genus of fishes * California roach ...

, bream, perch,

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

asp Asp may refer to: Places * Asp, part of Densbüren, Aargau, Switzerland * Aspe (''Asp'' in Valencian), Alicante, Spain * Asp Lake, a lake in Minnesota Animals * Asp (fish) * Asp (snake), in antiquity, one of several venomous snakes ** ''Cera ...

and Wels catfish. The rare species include

Caspian salmon Caspian can refer to: *The Caspian Sea *The Caspian Depression, surrounding the northern part of the Caspian Sea *The Caspians, the ancient people living near the Caspian Sea *Caspian languages, collection of languages and dialects of Caspian peopl ...

, sterlet, white salmon and kutum. In the delta of the river and nearby regions live about 48 animal species belonging to 7

orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

; most common are rodents (21 species) and predators (12). Among them,

Bobrinski's serotine Bobrinski's serotine (''Eptesicus bobrinskoi'') is a species of vesper bat. It can be found in Iran and Kazakhstan. Taxonomy Bobrinski's serotine was described as a new species in 1935 by Alexander Petrovitch Kuzyakin (also spelled Kuzjakin). Th ...

and marbled polecat are endemic. Key species are raccoon dog,

muskrat The muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitat ...

(appeared recently), European hare,

house mouse The house mouse (''Mus musculus'') is a small mammal of the order Rodentia, characteristically having a pointed snout, large rounded ears, and a long and almost hairless tail. It is one of the most abundant species of the genus '' Mus''. Althoug ...

, brown rat, and wild boar. Wild boars had a density of 1.2–2.5 per hectare in 2000 and are hunted commercially. Others include

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

, fox, wolf,

dwarf fat-tailed jerboa The dwarf fat-tailed jerboa (''Pygeretmus pumilio'') is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is found in China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country s ...

, great gerbil,

northern mole vole The northern mole vole (''Ellobius talpinus'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is distributed over large parts of Eastern Europe and Asia. Distribution This vole is found in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan an ...

and saiga antelope. The

Turkmenian kulan The Turkmenian kulan (''Equus hemionus kulan''), also called Transcaspian wild ass, Turkmenistani onager or simply the ', is a subspecies of onager (Asiatic wild ass) native to Central Asia. It was declared Endangered in 2016. The species's popu ...

(''Equus hemionus kulan'') used to live at the Ural River. It might be extinct from that region. The reptiles are represented by bog turtles, common water snakes, rat snakes and sand lizard. Bog turtles are found in all waters. Common water snakes live on the banks of canals. Rat snakes and sand lizards are few and inhabit relatively high areas of land. Two more reptiles,

Caspian whipsnake The Caspian whipsnake (''Dolichophis caspius'', sometimes also ''Coluber caspius'') also known as the large whipsnake (among various other species in genus ''Dolichophis''/'' Coluber''), is a common species of whipsnake found in the Balkans ...

and '' Coluber spinalis'', are extremely rare. Among amphibians common are lake frog and green frog. With an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 species, insects exceed all other animals of the region by diversity and biomass. Terrestrial and aquatic insects make up a significant proportion of the diet of birds. Many species are parasitic on birds and transmit infection. Other dominating inhabitants of the river are

protozoa Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic tissues and debris. Histo ...

rotifer The rotifers (, from the Latin , "wheel", and , "bearing"), commonly called wheel animals or wheel animalcules, make up a phylum (Rotifera ) of microscopic and near-microscopic pseudocoelomate animals. They were first described by Rev. John H ...

s, Cladocera and

copepod Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthos, benthic (living on the ocean floor) ...

s. Mollusks are mostly represented by

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

s and

bivalve Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...

Industry

Water from the upper reaches of the Ural River is used to supply the prominent Magnitogorsk (

Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (russian: Магнитогорский металлургический комбинат, Magnitogorskiy Metallurgicheskiy Kombinat), abbreviated as MMK, is an iron and steel company located in the city of Magnit ...

, built in the early 1930s) and Orsk-Khalilovsk metallurgical plants, and the low reaches are used for irrigation. Two reservoirs were created near Magnitogorsk, and there is a hydroelectric plant near the village of Iriklinskaya with the corresponding reservoir. Below Uralsk, there is another reservoir and the Kushumsky channel. The river is navigated up to Uralsk and there is a port in Atyrau. Fishery is well developed; the commercial fish species include

, perch,

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...

, bream,

and catfish. The delta of Ural River accounts for about half of the fish catchment in Kazakhstan. Also widespread is agriculture, especially growth of melons and watermelons. The city of

is a major oil producing center of Kazakhstan.

Etymology

The river was called (Daïkos) by Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD. Yulian Kulakovsky reads this as Turkic " Jajyk" or "Яик" and on this basis identifies the Huns as Turkic speakers. However,

Gerard Clauson Sir Gerard Leslie Makins Clauson (28 April 1891 – 1 May 1974) was an English civil servant, businessman, and Orientalist best known for his studies of the Turkic languages. The eldest son of Major Sir John Eugene Clauson, Gerard Clauson atten ...

disputes that the name could be of Turkic origin as early as the 2nd century, and instead attributes it to Sarmatian origin. Also, the version of origin from the ancient Finno-Ugric and subsequent adaptation by other language groups has not been sufficiently studied (the river originates in the alleged ancestral home of the Finno-Ugric languages). In modern Finno-Ugric, the closest surviving forms are found: "joki" (Finnish), "jogi" (Karelian), "jā" (Mansi), "ju" (Komi) - river, "jəŋk" (Khanty) - water. Also, hypothetically Finno-Ugric titles may have tributaries of the Yaik River, for example Ilek (Erzya "Ilyk" - strength) and Utva (Komi "Ytva" - spring water). In the 10th-Century work ''

De Administrando Imperio ''De Administrando Imperio'' ("On the Governance of the Empire") is the Latin title of a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is ("To yown son Romanos"). It is a domes ...

'', Byzantine Emperor

Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Kar ...

referred to the Ural River as the "Geich." The name Яйыҡ (Yayıq) is currently used in the

Bashkir language Bashkir (, ; Bashkir: ''Bashqortsa'', ''Bashqort tele'', ) is a Turkic language belonging to the Kipchak branch. It is co-official with Russian in Bashkortostan. It is spoken by approximately 1.4 million native speakers in Russia, as well as i ...

and Жайық (Zhayıq) in Kazakhstan. In later European texts it is sometimes mentioned as ''Rhymnus fluvius'' and in the Russian chronicle of 1140 as Yaik. The river was renamed Ural in the Russian language in 1775, by

Catherine II of Russia , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

History

In the 10th to 16th centuries, the city of

Saray-Jük Saray-Jük (Сарай-Жүк) / Sarai-Dzhuk (Сарай-Джук), Saraichik or Kishi Saray (Кіші Сарай) in the Kazakh language, Saraychyq (Сарайчык) in modern Tatar, and Saray Maly (russian: Сара́й Ма́лый) literally ...

(or Saraichik, meaning "small Sarai") on the Ural River (now in Atyrau Province of Kazakhstan) was an important trade center on the

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...

. In the 13th century, it became a stronghold of the Golden Horde. It was destroyed in 1395 by the army of Timur but then rebuilt to become the capital of Nogai Horde in the 15th and 16th centuries. It was finally reduced to a village in 1580 by the

Ural Cossacks The Ural Cossack Host was a cossack host formed from the Ural Cossacks – those Eurasian cossacks settled by the Ural River. Their alternative name, Yaik Cossacks, comes from the old name of the river. They were also known by the names: *Rus ...

After the Russian conquest of the Ural basin in the late 16th century, the shores of the Ural became home to the

Yaik Cossacks The Ural Cossack Host was a cossack host formed from the Ural Cossacks – those Eurasian cossacks settled by the Ural River. Their alternative name, Yaik Cossacks, comes from the old name of the river. They were also known by the names: *Rus ...

. One of their main activities was fishing for the sturgeon and related fishes (including the true sturgeon, starry sturgeon, and beluga) in the Ural River and the Caspian. A great variety of fishing techniques existed; the most famous of them was ''bagrenye'' (russian: багренье, from ''bagor'' russian: багор, meaning pike pole): spearing hibernating sturgeons in their underwater lairs in mid-winter. The ''bagrenye'' was allowed only on one day of the year. On the appointed day, a large number of Cossacks with pike poles were gathering on the shore; after a signal was given, they rushed on the ice, broke it with their poles, and speared and pulled the fish. Another fishing technique was constructing a weir, known as the ''uchug'' ( учуг) across the river, to catch fish going upstream to spawn. Until 1918, an ''uchug'' was set up in the summer and autumn near Uralsk, so that the fish would not go upstream beyond the Cossacks' land. While the ''uchug'' weirs were also known in the Volga Delta, the ''bagrenye'' was thought to be a uniquely Ural technique. The Ural Cossacks (known originally as the Yaik Cossacks) resented the attempts by the central government to impose rules and regulations on them, and on occasions rose in rebellions. The largest rebellion, the Pugachev's Rebellion of 1773–75, involved not only the Ural, but much of south-eastern Russia, and resulted in a loss of the government control there. After its suppression, Empress Catherine issued a decree of 15 January 1775 to rename most of the places involved in the revolt, in order to erase the memory of it. Thus the Yaik River and the city of Yaitsk were renamed to the Ural River and

, respectively, and the Yaik Cossacks became the Ural Cossacks.

References

Bibliography

* {{Authority control Rivers of Kazakhstan Rivers of Russia Tributaries of the Caspian Sea Rivers of Chelyabinsk Oblast Rivers of Bashkortostan Rivers of Orenburg Oblast Border rivers International rivers of Asia International rivers of Europe Ural Mountains History of Ural