The mighty Yenisei carries its waters into the Kara Sea (the outskirts of the Arctic Ocean). The official document (State Register of Water Bodies) establishes: the source of the Yenisei River is the confluence of the Small and Big Yenisei. But not all geographers agree with this point. Answering the question "where is the source of the Yenisei River?", they indicate other places on the maps, give other versions for measuring the length of the river and, as a result, other hydrological characteristics.
Some characteristics of the Yenisei
In terms of hydrogeological indicators of water abundance, the Yenisei is the leader among the 5 largest rivers in Russia.
| Indicators | Unit rev. | Yenisei | Lena | Ob | Cupid | Volga |
| Annual flow | cube km | 624 | 488 | 400 | 350 | 250 |
| Average consumption | cube m/s | 19870 | 16300 | 12600 | 11400 | 8060 |
| Catchment area | thous. sq. km | 2580 | 2490 | 2990 | 1855 | 1360 |
| Course length | thous. km | 3487 | 3448 | 3650 | 2824 | 3531 |
Other versions
Some scientists do not agree with official data and take other geographical points as the source of the Yenisei River, arguing that the source of the river begins from a place where a constant flow is clearly detected. It can be a spring, a stream flowing from a swamp, a lake, or from under a glacier.
The table shows the officially accepted lengths of rivers. For the Yenisei, Lena, Amur and Ob, the confluence of large tributaries in the upper reaches is taken as their beginning. For example, some geographers consider the Irtysh River to be the source of the Ob. Then we can talk about the length of the Ob at 5410 km. Taking the beginning of the Katun as the source of the Ob, we get 4338 km. As can be seen, the results in both variants will differ significantly from the official ones, depending on which point is taken as zero when measuring the length of rivers. The example with measurement of Cupid's length is similar. In the state water register, the indicated length - 2824 km - is determined from the confluence of the Shilka with the Argun, and if the kilometers are counted from the source of the Argun, then the length of the Amur is 4440 km. The true source of the Lena begins at altitude with a mark of 1680 m, and in official documents this is a point with a vertical mark of 1480 m, therefore, the length of the Lena on the ground is somewhat more than 3448 km.
Approximate calculations
Let's calculate the length of the watercourse according to this principle, taking a distance of 605 km as the source of the Yenisei River, using reference data on the length of the Bolshoy Yenisei River. It is longer than Small (563 km). In total, you get 4092 km - and this is the length of the Yenisei according to the "Russian" version.
But there is a "Mongolian" theory, according to which the length of the Small Yenisei, taking into account the tributary flowing into it in the upper reaches, is 615 km. Then the length of the Yenisei is 5002 km.
Some geographers offer a third option for calculating the length, arguing that the source of the Yenisei River is the Selenga River, which originates in Mongolia and flows into Lake Baikal. Its length is 1024 km, and it is the largest among the 336 streams and rivers that feed the lake. This version also takes into account other components: the length of the Angara River in 1779 km, as well as the distance between the mouth of the Selenga and the source of the Angara along the territory of Lake Baikal. As a result, adding the indicated lengths with the distance from the mouth of the Yenisei to the confluence of the Angara, the length of the watercourse is 5075 m. But questions arise: should the Yenisei then be considered the main river, or will it be a tributary of the Angara, moreover, at the place of their confluence, the Angara channel 2-3 times wider than the Yenisei. The second question: will Baikal have the status of a lake, or is it part of the Yenisei (Angara)?
From the length of the watercourse todirect dependence is the catchment area of the basin, which covers the Yenisei River. The source and mouth installed in each of these versions significantly increase other hydrological parameters (catchment area, river discharge and annual flow).
Official reference point
So what place should be considered as the source of the Yenisei River? Most likely, you need to adhere to the data of the State Water Register. In it, the confluence of two mountain streams (Big and Small Yenisei) is located at a distance of 3487 km from the confluence of the river into the Kara Sea and it is indicated that the Yenisei River begins from here. "Wikipedia" indicates the source in the same paragraph. Its coordinates are indicated: northern latitude 51 degrees. 43 min. 47 sec., east longitude 94 degrees. 27 min. 18 sec. The height of the source of the Yenisei River is determined to be 619.5 m above sea level.
The fall and slope of the river
Altai-Sayan highlands, intermountain basins, Minusinsk basin - these large landforms are crossed by the Yenisei River. The source and mouth are located in such hypsometric marks of the earth's surface: from 619.5 m to 0 m (sea level). The total drop is 619.5 m, and the average slope is 0.18 m/km. That is, for each km of the channel flow, its lower reaches are reduced by 18 cm, compared with the upper reaches.
This slope of the river would be with a uniform slope of the earth's surface from south to north. But the nature of the planet did not provide for ideal geometry. Therefore, the Yenisei River (the source and mouth hereinafter in the text are takenaccording to official information), depending on the relief and slope of the terrain, it is conditionally divided into 3 sections - upper, middle and lower.
Upper Yenisei
This section begins where the source of the Yenisei River. The share of the Upper Yenisei (the local name of the river is Ulug-Khem) accounts for 600 km. It ends at the confluence of the Abakan River with a height mark of 243.6 m. The height of the source of the Yenisei River is 619.5 m. On a section 188 km long, the width of the channel is from 100 to 650 m with depths in the reaches of at least 4 and up to 12 m, up to 1 m on riffles. The flow velocity in rapids reaches 8 m/s, the average speed in summer is 2-2.5 m/s. Then begins a reservoir 290 km long, formed by the 236 m high Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP dam blocking the channel. A few kilometers from it is a small reservoir of the Mainskaya HPP, 21.5 km long.
The fall of the Upper Yenisei - 375.9 m. The average slope - 0.63 m per kilometer of the channel. The values of such slopes are typical for rivers of mountain type, which corresponds to the conditions of the area (Sayan Canyon, northern side of the Tuva Basin, rapids channel, high flow rate).
Middle Yenisei
The beginning of the middle part of the Yenisei is considered the confluence of the river. Abakan - at 2887 km from the mouth with a mark of 243.6 m. The river is gradually losing signs of a mountain character. The valley becomes wide (up to 5 km), the current speed decreases to 1-2 m/s in a channel 500 m wide.
Middle Yenisei begins with Krasnoyarskreservoir, the length of which is 388 km with an average width of 15 km. The lower boundary of the artificial reservoir is above the city of Krasnoyarsk.
The Middle Yenisei ends at the confluence of the Angara River at 2137 km from the mouth with a height mark of 79 m..
The length of the Middle Yenisei is 750 km. The slope of the site with a total drop of 164.9 m is 0.22 m - with each kilometer of advancement to the north to the Kara Sea, the channel "falls" by 22 cm.
Lower Yenisei
This is the longest section with a length of 2137 km - from the confluence of the Angara to the mouth of the Yenisei in the alignment of Sopochnaya Karga. After the confluence of the Lower Tunguska, the channel becomes wide, reaching 5 km. The current slows down to 0.2 m/s. In the mouth section, the river is divided into 4 main channels, each of which is called the Yenisei, but is supplemented by the definition: Okhotsk, Kamenny, Bolshoi and Maly. The total width of the channels is 50 km. Between the channels are the vast Brekhov Islands, bypassing which they are again connected into one channel, forming the Yenisei Bay at the very outskirts of the Kara Sea. The river has the features of a flat one: the slope is not more than 0.04 (up to 4 cm per kilometer), the flow speed is almost imperceptible, surge phenomena are often observed - the flow of water from the sea into the bay.
River Hydrology
The food of the Yenisei is mixed, half of which is snow. The share of rainfall is 35%, groundwater in the upper reaches makes its share of 15%, to the lower reachesparticipation in feeding the river is declining.
Frost formation, forerunners of which are in-water ice and autumn ice drift, begins from the lower reaches in early October, in the middle reaches it is mid-November, in the upper reaches - the end of November - December. Winter runoff is sharply reduced.
Spring flood stretches, starting on the middle Yenisei from the end of April. In the upper reaches it starts a little later. In the lower reaches - from the middle of May to the first decade of June. When ice drifts, congestion is formed. Raising levels up to 7 m in extensions and up to 16 m in channel narrowings. In the lower reaches, the level is higher - up to 28 m (Kureika), but towards the mouth alignment it drops to 12 m.
What is Father Yenisei famous for
The greatness of full flow: the river ranks first in the TOP-5 largest rivers in Russia.
It flows through the center of Asia - the capital of Tuva, the city of Kyzyl.
Delimits Western Siberia with Eastern Siberia with its channel and roughly divides the expanses of Russia by about half.
"Where is the source of the Yenisei River?" - this question is still the most controversial among geographers.
You can get from Mongolia to the Kara Sea by rafting along the Selenga, Lake Baikal, Angara and Yenisei.
