The Ob River: the nature of the current, geographical characteristics

In total there are about 2.5 million rivers on the map of Russia. The vast majority of them are small rivulets. However, some reach a truly gigantic size. One of such waterways is the Ob.

General characteristics of the river

The direction of the Ob river is its main feature. Unlike other Russian rivers, it flows from south to north. The Ob is the longest river in Russia. Its length exceeds even the length of such rivers as the Yenisei and Lena. The total area of its basin is about 3 million square meters. Km, which is five times more than the territory of France.

Ob, as already mentioned, is the longest river in the whole territory of Russia. Its basin is partly located in other countries - for example, Mongolia and China. The river has several types of food: snow, rain and glacial. There are many cities on its banks. She falls into the Ob Bay. The average speed of the Ob river is 5 km / h.

Upper Ob

The basin of the named river is territorially located in various physical, geographical and climatic conditions. On the southern side of the river, only the beginning of the river, there are hot deserts and semi-deserts. In the north it is the cold territory of the tundra. The entire water artery is conditionally divided into three parts: upper, middle and lower. At the point where two majestic rivers merge , Biya and Katun, and the river Ob begins. The nature of the flow on this site depends on the characteristics of the relief.

Up to the mouth of Tom, the valley of the Ob is wide. This section is called the upper one. Here the current has a fairly high speed, but the more the river expands, the slower and calmer its waters flow. The river bed often clings to the high left bank, and below the city of Novosibirsk it extends to 20 km. Even lower in the Ob fall into two tributaries - it's Chumysh on the right side and Alei with the left. How fast or slow the flow of the Ob River depends on its site. For example, the rocky bottom at the confluence of Katun and Biya is due to the high speed of the river flow in this place.

By the way, in autumn and summer in this place you can observe a curious phenomenon. From the side the river surface here seems striped. This is due to the fact that the waters of the two primary rivers are colored in different colors and do not mix immediately. Greenish waters of Katun and whitish Biya form such an effect.

Average Ob

On its long journey, the Ob collects the waters of many Siberian mountain rivers. Its bed runs along the entire West Siberian Plain, it is broken into sleeves, ducts. When spring comes, an illusion of an infinite water space with small islands of land is created in this area.

The average Ob is the next section into which the river is conventionally divided. It starts from the mouth of the Tom River and ends where the Irtysh flows into the Ob. In its middle part the river is pressed against the so-called Belogorsky mainland - a small hill.

In some places, the Ob River becomes very wide (more than 50 km). The nature of its flow is deep. There are also many channels. After confluence of the Irtysh into its channel, the water artery changes direction, turning to the north. The width of the flood plain of the Middle Ob is 20 to 30 km, and the valleys 30-50 km.

Lower Ob

The site to the Ob Bay is called the Lower Ob. Here its width is from 3 to 7 km. The river valley is asymmetric: its right bank has a steep form and is covered with forest, while the left bank, on the contrary, is flat. Each year the nature of the river bed is changing. The riverbed, washing up the precipitous right bank and putting the left on the silt, changes its shape.

Flood in the spring is a distinctive feature of the Ob river. The nature of the current in its lower reaches is due to the presence of powerful tributaries - Tom and Irtysh. For the Lower Ob, spring high water and summer floods merge into one powerful wave.

Ice cover formation

The Upper and Middle Ob are usually covered by the thickness of ice during the cold season. The upper part of the river is liberated from the ice cover by the middle of April, the middle reaches the April level, and the lower part - at the beginning of May. In some places the Ob is free from ice for a long time. For example, in the Barnaul region this period is 200 days per year. In Salekhard, the Ob is not covered by ice for 180 days. When spring comes, the rivers can rise up to 4 m. Here in the summer, water can warm up to 28 degrees.

Studying the Ob in history

In those times when the European conquerors were already advancing inland of America, the eastern part of Siberia remained still poorly understood. The first records concerning the Ob river date back to the 16th century. At that time it was believed that it could have an outlet to China and even to India.

The best example of maps of Siberia at that time was the atlas of the European explorer Mercator, compiled in 1595. But even in it the river is represented absolutely incorrectly. And in its upper reaches, a non-existent Chinese lake was designated.

The Russians began to colonize Siberia from about the 16th to the 17th century, although by that time the river basin had been found by the Khanty, Mansi and Selkup already occupied by tribes. It is very difficult at this time to establish the origin of the name of the river. Some researchers believe that it originates from the Russian word "both", since the river originates from two other rivers.

Other scientists believe that this name comes from the Iranian word "ab", which means "water". But for the first time the Novgorodians who settled in the Lower Ob have met the Ob. They called the river "Obdor". But mainly for geographers, the Ob river is not a mystery. The nature of the current, its location and wealth have been studied during many expeditions and with the help of special equipment.