The Zeya (russian: Зе́я; from indigenous
Evenki word "djee" (blade); zh, 结雅; mnc, m= ,
Mölendroff: jingkiri bira) is a northern, left
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
Amur
The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...
in
Amur Oblast
Amur Oblast ( rus, Аму́рская о́бласть, r=Amurskaya oblast, p=ɐˈmurskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya Rivers in the Russian Far East. The administrative ...
,
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 long, and has a drainage basin of .
The average flow of the river is .
History
The first Russian documented to enter the area was
Vassili Poyarkov
Vassili Danilovich Poyarkov (Василий Данилович Поярков in Russian, ? - after 1668) was the first Russian explorer of the Amur region.
The Russian expansion into Siberia began with the conquest of the Khanate of Sibir in 158 ...
.
Course
It rises in the
Toko-Stanovik
The Toko-Stanovik (russian: Токинский Становик, ''Tokinsky Stanovik'') is a range of mountains in the Russian Far East. Administratively it belongs partly to Amur Oblast, the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) and Khabarovsk Krai of the Fe ...
mountain ridge, a part of the
Stanovoy Range
The Stanovoy Range (russian: Станово́й хребе́т, ''Stanovoy khrebet''; sah, Сир кура; ), is a mountain range located in the Sakha Republic and Amur Oblast, Far Eastern Federal District. It is also known as Sükebayatur a ...
.
The Zeya flows through the
Zeya Reservoir
Zeya may refer to:
People
*Aung Zeya, full name of Alaungpaya, king of Burma in 1752–1760
* Zeya (Burmese actor) (1916–1996), Burmese actor and director
*Zeya Thaw (born 1981), alternative spelling of the name of Zayar Thaw, Burmese politici ...
, at the junction of the
Tukuringra Range and
Dzhagdy Range
The Dzhagdy Range (russian: Хребет Джагды) is a range of mountains in far North-eastern Russia. Administratively it belongs partly to Amur Oblast and partly to the Khabarovsk Krai of the Russian Federation.
Geography
The Dzhagdy is ...
, and joins the
Amur
The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...
near
Blagoveshchensk
Blagoveshchensk ( rus, Благове́щенск, p=bləgɐˈvʲeɕːɪnsk, meaning ''City of the Annunciation'') is a city and the administrative center of Amur Oblast, Russia. It is located at the confluence of the Amur and the Zeya Rivers, opp ...
, at the border with China. Regulation of river discharge by
Zeya Dam
The Zeya Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Zeya River by the town of Zeya, Amur Oblast, Russia, north of the Chinese border. On average the Zeya Hydroelectric Power Station generates 4.91 TWh of electricity per year. It is equipped with ...
mitigates extremities of river flow down to 5000 m³/s. The Zeya contributes around 16% of both the average and maximum flow of de Amur because of the flow regulations. In the past, the Zeya could have contributed up to almost 50% of the Amur's maximum flow of approximately 30,000 m³/s.
The main tributaries of the Zeya are
Tok,
Mulmuga,
Bryanta,
Gilyuy
The Gilyuy (russian: Гилю́й) is a river in Amur Oblast, Russia. It is a right tributary of the Zeya, and is 545 km long, with a drainage basin of 22,500 km². The river has its sources on the southern slopes of the Stanovoy Mountai ...
, and
Urkan on the right, and
Kupuri,
Argi,
Dep,
Selemdzha
The Selemdzha () is a river in the Amur Region of Russia. It is the biggest, left tributary of the Zeya. The length of the river is 647 km. The area of its basin 68,600 km².
Course
The Selemdzha has its source where three mountain r ...
, and
Tom on the left.
[Зея (река в Амурской обл.)]
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 river freezes from November to May. When it is unfrozen, the river is navigable with the most important river ports being
Zeya,
Svobodny, and
Blagoveshchensk
Blagoveshchensk ( rus, Благове́щенск, p=bləgɐˈvʲeɕːɪnsk, meaning ''City of the Annunciation'') is a city and the administrative center of Amur Oblast, Russia. It is located at the confluence of the Amur and the Zeya Rivers, opp ...
.
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 drained into ...
References
External links
*
Rivers of Amur Oblast
{{Russia-river-stub