AMUR RIVER: HISTORY, CHARACTERISTICS, SOURCE, TRIBUTARIES, FLORA, FAUNA - GEOGRAPHY - 2024

The Amur River is a river system located in western Asia. It is considered an international basin, since it runs through part of the territory of Mongolia, Russia and China. With a length of 2,824 km, the Amur ranks tenth among the longest rivers in the world.

The Amur River bathes an area of ​​approximately 1,855,000 km ², of which 54% belongs to Russia, 44.2% corresponds to the Republic of China and the remaining 1.8% is located in the territory of Mongolia. It has an average flow of 10,900 m ³ / s that decreases dramatically in winter to a maximum of 200 m ³ / s, due to the freezing of the channel.

The Amur River rises in northwestern Mongolia in the Khentii Mountains. Photo: Lucas Henrique Guerra Santos

History

Originally, the Amur River basin was populated by native Buratians, Yarkutos, Nanai, Nivjis, Udegeys, Orok, as well as Mughal and Manchu groups.

Between 1644 and 1911, Manchu tribes that lived south of the river conquered China and established the Qing dynasty, exercising their sovereignty over the entire territory of the basin.

Towards the seventeenth century, Soviet explorers and merchants began to settle on the north bank of the Amur River, generating friction and tension between the governments of the Soviet Union and China. As a solution, in 1689 both nations signed the Treaty of Nerchinsk, where the sovereignty of China over the Amur River basin was confirmed.

These conditions were maintained until 1858 when both nations signed new conditions established in the Treaty of Aigún. In this treaty, China cedes the rights to the territories on the north bank of the Amur River to the Soviet Union, as well as its rights to the Sijoté-Alín mountains.

In 1860 the First Beijing Convention was held. As a consequence of the end of the Second Opium War, China signed agreements with the United Kingdom, France and the Soviet Union. In the document agreed with the Soviet Union, part of Outer Manchuria and the current territory of the Ussuriysk krai were ceded.

At the end of World War II, tensions between China and the Soviet Union escalated. In 1969 there was an armed conflict that took place on the banks of the Ussuri River.

Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the governments of China and Russia have made sustained efforts to achieve greater political and economic collaboration for the development of the Amur border region.

General characteristics

One of the most striking aspects of the Amur Basin is its relative anonymity. Its distance from the West has made it go practically unnoticed, despite its importance for local ecosystems and the local economy.

Weather

The climate in the Amur river basin is affected by monsoon winds coming from the east and polar air masses coming from the north. It presents variations of up to 51 ° C between winter and summer.

In winter it reaches minimum temperatures of -33 ° C at the northern ends of the basin. In summer it reaches the highest temperatures, presenting its maximum in July with temperatures of up to 22 ° C due to the influence of subtropical winds.

During the summer there is more than half of the annual total rainfall that falls on the basin. Its distribution is uneven: between 600 and 900 mm towards the south and in areas close to the sea; a maximum of 600 mm in its central section and between 300 and 400 mm to the north.

Floods

The Amur is a river of pluvial feeding. These come mainly from monsoon rains. When it reaches the river, the rainwater produces floods that extend from May to October. The Amur River reaches its lowest levels between April and March.

It traditionally produces floods in the plains and swamps, however, in years with particularly high rainfall rates it has come out of its channel in the areas where it flows through channels, causing significant economic losses.

In spring it presents a second minor flood, caused by the melting of snow that fell during winter along its riverbed.

In the following video you can see the Amur River from satellite images:

Birth, route and mouth

The Amur River rises in northwestern Mongolia in the Khentii Mountains, at the confluence of the Shilka and Argún rivers. It generally flows in a west-east direction to its mouth in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

The Amur basin is divided into three parts: upper, middle and lower.

Upper amur

This section has a length of 883 km that extends from its source in the Khentii Mountains, to the mouth of the Zeya River in the Siberian city of Blagoveshchensk, in Russian territory.

In this section, the Amur flows through the valley formed between the Da Hinggan Mountain Range to the north, and the Amarzar Mountain Range to the south. Near the Russian village of Albazino, in the Skovorodinsky district, the Amur leaves the valley and crosses an open plateau to reach the re-founded tourist town of Yermakovo, in the Krasnoyarsk Krai, to flow between rocky cliffs carved by the action of water.

Middle amur

It runs from the mouth of the Zeya River to the mouth of the Ussuri River, in the Russian city of Khabarovsk. It extends for approximately 975 km, constituting the longest stretch of the Amur.

It begins in the Zeya-Bureya Depression flowing into the rolling plain that borders the Xiao Hinggan Mountain Range. Upon receiving the waters of the Bureya River, the Amur heads north and crosses the Xiao Hinggan Mountain Range through a narrow gorge that considerably increases the speed of its waters.

When leaving the mountain range it enters a floodplain, through which it flows through channels forming ponds and lakes. It runs in the vicinity of Leninskoye, in the Arkharinsky district - located in the Amur Oblast - and Khabarovsk, until it receives the waters of the Ussuri River.

Lower amur

This section is 966 km long. In it it crosses the estuary of the river Ussuri to its mouth in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, crossing the Nikolayevsk settlement of the Amur, in the Khabarovsk krai.

Receiving the waters of the Ussuri River, the Amur spreads in a labyrinthine way through a marshy valley through channels and branches, forming countless islands and sandbanks. During the high season this valley is flooded, forming a single large lake that extends to the vicinity of Komsomolsk on the Amur, also located in Khabarovsk.

Passing the city of Komsomolsk, the Amur flows through a 145 km forested valley. At its exit it bathes a marshy terrain forming two large lakes: the Kizi and the Udyl. After receiving the Amgun river, it forms a 50 km wide estuary through which it empties into the sea.

Contamination

Agricultural practices on the lands of the Amur basin have led to contamination of the water that flows into the sea. The condition of the water harms not only plant and animal species, but also makes its use for human consumption unfeasible due to its high levels of toxicity.

In 2005, the Amur suffered the consequences of an accidental spill of chemicals. The event directly affected one of its tributaries, the Songhua River in Jilin province, on Chinese territory.

The explosion of a chemical plant spilled approximately 100 tons of waste into the river. As a consequence, the Chinese government had to suspend the water intake of the Songhua, which supplied approximately 3.8 million people, in addition to undertaking campaigns for the cleaning and decontamination of this important tributary of the Amur.

In the Amur basin, various activities are carried out that are considered dangerous for the environment, among which are mining, the processing of synthetic rubber, oil and paper pulp.

The chemicals in the waters and sediments of the basin that are of greatest concern to conservationists are benzene, pyrene, nitrobenzene and mercury.

The governments of China and Russia work together to monitor the quality of the water in the Amur basin, to reduce its pollution and reduce the impact of its waters on the ecosystems of the Pacific Ocean.

Economy

Fishing is the main economic activity that takes place around the Amur River. This activity was the form of subsistence and the main factor that shaped the life of the native ethnic groups in the region.

At present, fishing is carried out in parallel with the commercial activity carried out by river thanks to the installation of a large number of ports on the Amur and its tributaries.

These ports are available for navigation in the months that its course is not frozen and there are no ice jams.

The economic activities developed in the Amur River and its fluvial transit were affected by diplomatic tensions between China and Russia, especially in the period between 1960 and 1990.

The signing of agreements has promoted binational collaboration for the expansion of projects related to navigation, agriculture and the exploitation of hydroelectric potential.

Ecological risks

Between 1950 and 1990 the forests in the Amur basin, located in northern China, suffered voracious deforestation. On the one hand, the wood was used for domestic supplies; and on the other hand, burning prepared the soil for agricultural use.

The autumn rains of 1998 were exceptionally heavy, causing large floods in the area. The absence of vegetation made it impossible to absorb water, causing large floods that accounted for numerous human and material losses. From this event, the Chinese government set its sights on caring for the forests, working hard to prevent floods.

In a highly competitive market, Russia began logging its eastern forests to meet the demand of its Asian neighbor without taking into account the role of vegetation in preventing floods and erosion.

Another problem affecting the basin is overfishing. Two species of sturgeon present in the Amur have great commercial value and have been listed as endangered species.

The remaining specimens are unable to reproduce fast enough to meet the needs of the world market. To this is added legal and illegal fishing, concentrated mainly in the middle and lower reaches of the Amur.

The construction of new reservoirs for flood control and hydroelectric production are other concerns that unite the will of conservationists in the river basin. The control of the Amur channel and its tributaries puts the conservation of the fauna and flora of the ecosystems at risk, being the most vulnerable wetlands.

The reservoirs reduce the oxygenation of the water and prevent the transit of aquatic species with migratory behaviors to their mating and spawning places, putting the survival of these species at risk.

Main cities that travels

It is estimated that by 2008, the Amur River basin inhabited approximately 75 million people. Its distribution is uneven, since 93% of the population is concentrated in Chinese territory. Currently the indigenous population is prolific, located mainly in the Durian steppe and towards the east of the basin.

In Russia, the most important cities that the Amur River touches are Blagoveshchensk with 216,691 inhabitants, Khabarovsk with 589,596 inhabitants and Komsomolsk on the Amur with 259,081 inhabitants, according to the 2012 census.

In China it passes through Heihe, which has a population of 1,750,000 inhabitants; and Tongjiang with 211,609 inhabitants, based on 2010 data.

Tributaries

Along its 2,824 km in length, the Amur River receives a large number of tributaries between rivers, streams and torrents. Among the most important rivers that contribute their waters to the Amur are Ussuri, Amgun, Zeya, Bureya, Anyuy, Tunguska and Songhua.

Flora

In the Amur river basin there is a great diversity of plant species. The presence of wetlands stands out with an estimated 2,800 species, among which are some that have been declared in danger of extinction.

Common species in the area are larch, soldier orchid, fir, Korean pine, Amur cork oak, mountain ash, steppe grassland, Manchurian walnut, Mongolian oak, wild ginseng and red pine.

Also dwarf shrubs, daurean birch, Japanese yew, Amur grape, kiwi vine, calypso orchid, dwarf pine, gooseberry, high mountain willow, and Manchurian elm

Fauna

Along the river basin, more than 500 species of animals have been registered, some of them declared in danger of extinction. The most representative species of this group are the Siberian tiger and the Kaluga sturgeon.

Other species present in the territory of the Amur river basin are brown bear, Amur leopard, northern black grouse, musk deer, elk, wolf, osprey, reindeer, ermine, Siberian weasel, red squirrel, spotted woodpecker, mouse Japanese field, red-tailed robin, dogwood, roe deer, red deer, golden eagle, lynx, wild boar, otter and mountain hare.

More than 100 species of fish inhabit the waters of the river, of which at least 25 have commercial value. Among them are the Siberian salmon, the Chinese perch, the sig, the white amur and the burbot.

References

1. Amur River, Encyclopedia Britannica digital version. Taken from britannica.com.
2. Amur-Heilong River Basin Reader, World Wildlife Fund (2008). Taken from wwf.panda.org.
3. Frédéric Lasserre, “The Amur River border. Once a symbol of conflict, could it turn into a water resource stake? " (2003). Taken from journals.openedition.org.
4. The panic over the chemical spill in northeast China crosses the Russian border, Digital version of the newspaper El Mundo. Taken from elmundo.es.
5. Voronov Boris A., "Ecological State of the Amur River", Institute of Water and Ecology Problems, FEB RAS, Khabarovsk, Russia. Taken from chikyu.ac.jp.