Lake Khanka: origin, description, meaning

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

Many do not know about this amazingly beautiful place, which is a wonderful object of nature and a source of inspiration for poets and artists.

This is the territory of the most beautiful sunsets and sunrises, a place where the rarest specimens of birds and animals live. Here are quiet autumn nights and a mysterious, mysterious life with its bursts, rustles and quiet rustles.

This is a wonderful Lake Khanka. Where is it? Who lives in these amazingly beautiful places? For more information about this natural reservoir and its surroundings, please read the article.

About the status of the area

The world of animals and vegetation of Lake Khanka and its environs is surprisingly diverse. In accordance with the Ramsar Convention, in 1971 this unique wetland was given the status of sites of international importance.

In 1990, the Khankai State Nature Reserve was organized in the Khankai Lake basin. April 1996 was marked by the signingbetween the Governments of the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation on the establishment of the international Russian-Chinese protected area "Lake Khanka" on the basis of two nature reserves (the Russian Khankai and the Chinese "Xingkai-Hu").

Reservoirs of the Khanka region, value

The rivers of this region enter the Ussuri basin, since where Lake Khanka is located, where all river reservoirs flow, two rivers join: the Sungach (flows from the lake) and the Ussuri. Basically, all of them are fed by rain, since the snow cover in these places is small. And in winter, when there is a strong freezing of the soil and little snow, the surface and underground feeding of the rivers stops altogether. During the summer floods in reservoirs, the water level rises, as a result of which the valleys and the floodplain are flooded.

The largest rivers of the region: Melgunovka (length 31 km), Bolshiye Usachi (length 46 km) and Komissarovka (78 km). All of them do not have any transport value due to their shallow water. Their main use is irrigation of agricultural land. They are also recreation areas for the population.

The main water body is Lake Khanka, which is the largest not only in the region, but in the entire Primorsky Territory.

Lake location

Location of Khanka Lake - Primorsky Territory of Russia and Heilongjiang Province of China. This is the largest freshwater reservoir in the Far East.

The lake (southern part) is located on the territory of Primorsky Krai in the very center of the Khanka lowland, and it is divided by the border with the Chinese province of Heilongjiang,which owns the northern part of the lake.

Terrain

The territory of the entire Khanka region extends on the Khanka plain, where low-mountain ridges with soft contours and relatively gentle slopes predominate. For example, the Sergeevsky massif (southwest of the village of Kamen-Rybolov) has absolute heights in the range of 300-700 meters. Most of the territory is represented by ridges, gradually turning into a valley. The wide river valley The Komissarovka, together with its tributaries, is located in the central part of the region, where floodplain terraces predominate, stretching along the riverbed in narrow ribbons. These places are swampy, covered with bumps. The territory of the district is represented by an extensive network of gullies and ravines.

On the outskirts of the plain, the absolute heights are 150-200 meters. Closer to the central part, the plain gradually decreases to 30 meters above sea level. The western shore of the lake is represented by terraces located close to each other and sheer in some places to a narrow strip of the beach area.

The western part of the district is mostly mountainous. On this site there are mountains Sinyukha (at the Sea level - 726 meters), Skalista (495 m), Bashlyk (484 m) and Mayak (427 m).

Description of Lake Khanka, parameters

The shape of the lake is similar to a pear (expansion in the northern part). The relic reservoir is located at an altitude of 59 meters above sea level. seas. More than 20 small and large rivers flow into it (Gryaznukha, Usachi, Komissarovka,Melgunovka, etc.), the only Sungach River flows out, along which the border with China runs.

Fresh water in the lake is cloudy, light yellow. This is due to its small depth (the average depth is 4.5 meters, the prevailing depths are 1-3 meters), with frequent winds and the fact that its bottom is composed of clay and silt. The maximum depth of the lake is 10.6 meters.

The area of Lake Khanka is unstable, and it changes depending on climate change. It reaches a maximum of 5010 sq. km, and the minimum is 3940 sq. km. The length along the length is approximately 95 km, the largest width is 67 km. In total, about 24 rivers flow into the lake. As noted above, the Sungach River flows out of the reservoir. It connects with the river. Ussuri, which, in turn, merges with the Amur.

Flora and fauna of Khanka and the entire Khanka region is a museum of relics of living beings.

Flora

There are many aquatic plants in Lake Khanka, among which are the rarest - Brazia schrebera and the awesome Euryale. The Lotus also grows here - the sacred flower of the East, which belongs to the number of protected objects, since in Russia it has been preserved mainly in Primorye - on Putyatin Island, near the resort of Shmakov and near Khanka. You can also meet snow-white water lily (grass-overcome) here.

The area's wetlands are a unique natural complex. The shores of the lake are a rather swampy area, which is characterized by the so-called floodplains. These are communities that are formed by different types of cereals and sedges,forming a strong turf. She covered a huge area of the water mirror of the lake.

Also, these places are represented by meadows and meadow-forest, forest-steppe, steppe plant communities. There are also woodlands (sepulchral pine) and oak forests.

Fauna

The territory of this region has not been covered by the sea since Mesozoic times, and in the Quaternary period it was bypassed by glaciation. In this regard, many species of northern animals perfectly survived in these places the period of glaciers advancing on the northern part of the Far East.

Typical representatives of the animal world: wild forest cat, Nepalese marten (harza), raccoon dog. Hoofed animals also live here: wild boar, roe deer and musk deer (a small 20-kilogram hornless deer).

As a wetland bird reserve, Lake Khanka is the only body of water of international importance in the Far East and Eastern Siberia. 225 species of birds out of 287 included in the list of rare birds under the threat of complete extinction were noted in the Khanka lowland, including the following: Spoonbill, Japanese crane, Reed pike and many others. etc. A huge number of ducks are splashing in the lake (among them there are mandarin ducks), herons of three species nest.

Luxurious butterflies of various colors also fly here.

Fish and other aquatic life

The waters of the lake are home to many fish and other aquatic invertebrates, including endemic ones.

In total, more than 60 species of fish live here: silver carp, carp, catfish, pike, bream, grass carp,skygazer, killer whale, snakehead, etc. There is no such variety of fish as in Khanka anywhere in Russia. The largest fish is Kaluga (fish of the sturgeon family, genus Beluga), whose representative, caught in 1964, weighed 1136 kg.

The most valuable fish of Lake Khanka is carp, commercial fish is silver carp, relic original snakehead. The latter, at an air temperature of no more than 15 degrees, can live in wet grass for up to 4 days, and it is also able to move overland from one reservoir to another.

The soft-bodied freshwater turtle - Trionix (or Maaka), which is nowhere else in Russia, lives in the lake. It is listed in the Red Book.

Climatic conditions

Lake Khanka is located within the temperate zone. The climate here has a monsoonal character, a feature of which is a change in wind directions. Winters (snowless, sunny and cold) are characterized by damp and cold continental air of northwestern and western directions.

In the summer, winds blow from the southeast and east. They bring humid air, with frequent heavy rains. The average annual precipitation in the warm season is 480-490 mm, and in the cold season - up to 40 mm.

How did the lake come about?

The origin of Lake Khanka is unique. This is the remnant of an ancient reservoir, the size of which many millions of years ago was much larger (almost 3 times).

Many scientists suggest that it happened as a result of tectonic processes. In ancient times (early Pleistocene) on thisarea there was a large river network, which gradually formed into a lake. Studies show that the size of this reservoir was constantly changing, which is still observed today. This is evidenced by multiple alluvial deposits on its bottom and surface.

And from a historical point of view, Khanka happened in antiquity. During the Middle Ages, fish from this reservoir was supplied to the table of many emperors of the Celestial Empire. It is known that in 1706 the lake was marked on the map by Delisle (a French cartographer and astronomer), but under the name Himgon. The Russian map of the 18th century has the designation of a lake called Ginka.

In 1868, a detailed description of the fauna and flora of the lake and the surrounding area was made by N. M. Przhevalsky, and in 1902 these regions were explored by V. K. Arseniev (Russian traveler).

Lake vacation

Due to the fact that the basin of Lake Khanka is shallow, the water in it warms up very quickly. In muddy but warm water, as noted above, many animals and fish live.

This shallow lake attracts many outdoor enthusiasts, fans of water sports and fishing to its shores. The water warms up here much faster than in the Sea of Japan, part of which is adjacent to Primorye. The western hilly coast, covered with hills, rocks, sandy and pebbly beaches, is very reminiscent of the coast of the sea. In summer, the water temperature reaches up to 30 degrees Celsius.