The Uda River, which flows through the territory of Buryatia, is one of the largest tributaries of the Selenga. Length - 467 km, the area of the river basin is 34,800 square meters. km.
Name
The origin of the name is unclear, there are several versions: from the ancient Mongolian word meaning willow, which grows in abundance along the banks; from the Uduit tribe, exterminated by the Mongols; from the Mongolian "ude" - "noon", since, according to legend, the Mongol horsemen first arrived at the nameless river at this time of the day; or from the Selkup word "ut" - "water".
tributaries of the Uda River
Uda originates in coniferous forests in the southwest of the Vitim Plateau, at an altitude of 1055 meters. Main tributaries: Muhei (93 km), Pogromka (44 km), Egita (55 km), Ona (173 km), Kudun (252 km), Kurba (227 km), Bryanka (128 km). The river flows in a southwesterly direction. In the section from the source to the confluence of the Ona, the channel passes through the hilly region of the spurs of the Vitim Plateau, then the relief becomes more rugged, and the current flows among low ridges (1200-1800 m), most of which are oriented in a northeasterly direction.
Parts of the river
The Uda River and the Selenga (or rather, their basin) are stretched intolatitudinal direction and evenly developed along both banks. According to the nature of the structure of the river valley, the channel and the flow conditions, the reservoir is divided into two sections: before the confluence of the Ona and from its confluence to the mouth.
In the first section (261 km), the river flows through hilly, forested areas, and swampy areas in places where it falls. The river valley is deep, slightly winding, the width along the bottom increases from half a kilometer in the upper reaches to 5-10 km at the end of the section. The slopes are quite steep, have a height of 50 to 300 meters, are composed of granites and other crystalline rocks. The Uda River flows through them. This territory is dissected by tributaries, dry beams and ravines, overgrown with forest and shrubs. The width of the channel varies from 10 to 40-60 meters, the banks are steep and steep, with an average height of 1-2 meters, overgrown with shrubs and trees (pine, larch, birch, poplar, willow) along their entire length.
On the second section (206 km) the river valley is floodplain and deep. The floodplain is mainly left-bank, two to three kilometers wide, in the Ulan-Ude region it is only 20-50 meters. Fishing on the Uda River is very convenient here. The surface of the floodplain is strongly indented by numerous channels, oxbow lakes and hollows. The width of the valley along the bottom is from 10-15 to 19 km, its slopes are steep, terraced in the lower part, overgrown with dense coniferous forest. In the lower reaches, the slopes drop, breaking off in steep ledges to the river floodplain. The Uda River has a winding and highly branched channel, except for the last seven kilometers. The width of the watercourse, on average, is from 70 to 100 m, the largest is 260 m. The riffles are located at a distance of one hundred meters tokilometers from each other, the depth in these places does not exceed 0.7 m, on the stretches - a meter and a half. The greatest depth is 3.2 m. The river is fed mainly by rainwater, but in some years the runoff of melt water reaches 30% of the volume. Floods begin in the first half of April, reaching a peak at the end of the month, with the onset of ice drift. The water drops by the end of June.
River character
In summer and autumn, up to five rain floods occur along the river, lasting from 20 to 30 days. The highest level of water rise is observed in August-September. Every three to five years, rains cause floods. The freeze-up takes place in the last days of October or early November, the ice lasts 155-180 days, and in the upper reaches of the Uda it completely freezes. The river is used for water supply, from the village of Oninoborskoye to the confluence with the Selenga, loose timber is rafted. Uda crosses the lands of several reserves. There are several villages along the lower stream, and the Buryat capital, Ulan-Ude, is located on both banks of the mouth. The Uda River is rich in such types of fish: grayling, tugun, taimen, pike, omul, burbot, because of which you can often see fishermen on the banks. Elk, Siberian roe deer, red deer, wild boar, lynx, and bear are hunted especially effectively in the forests of the Khorinsky district.
Neighbourhood
There are settlements on the banks of the river. The valley of the water flow is considered the most developed in Buryatia. The city of Ulan-Ude is located near the mouth and stretches for 20 km to the confluence with the main watercourse - the Selenga.
Moreover, near the riverthere are several highways. One of them, which has the P436 index, leads from the capital of Buryatia to Chita. Its length is 200 km. The second, only 30 km long, stretches from Ulan-Ude to Khorinsk. And the tract that unites two highways connects the gap from Bryanka (Uda valley) to the mouth of Khudan.
