The Yenisei River. Economic use and general characteristics

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

The wide and mighty Yenisei River. How many poems are dedicated to her, how many paintings and even monuments! The unprecedented power of the Yenisei, its beauty has always inspired writers, poets and artists.

General characteristics of the river

The Yenisei got its name from the Evenki "Ionessi", which means "big water". The name of the river among other peoples sounds: Enzya'yam, Huk, Khem, Kim.

From the confluence of the Big and Small Yenisei, the length of the river is 3487 km. The length of the waterway is 5075 km (Ider - Selenga - Baikal - Angara - Yenisei). The basin area is 2580 km², according to this indicator, the Yenisei ranks second among all rivers in Russia and seventh in the world. Like most rivers in this area, the Yenisei has asymmetric banks. The left bank is gentle, and the right bank is steep and almost 6 times higher.

This river is a natural border between Eastern and Western Siberia. To the left of the river are the plains of Western Siberia, and the mountain taiga begins on the right side. The Yenisei flows through all the climatic zones of Siberia: camels live in the upper reaches of the river, and polar bears live in the lower reaches.

This powerful river originates in the city of Kyzyl, where they merge into one two rivers - the Big and Small Yenisei. The first 188 km of the river is called the Upper Yenisei. Within the Tuva basin, the river abounds in riffles, breaks into many branches, and the width reaches 650 m. The depth on the rifts is 1 m, on the reaches - 12 m.

At the mouth of the Lower Tunguska, the width of the Yenisei River valley reaches 40 km.

Sopochnaya Karga is the mouth of the river. The Yenisei Delta begins near the village of Ust-Port. There are several main branches: Small Yenisei, Big Yenisei, Stone Yenisei and Okhotsk Yenisei.

Near the Kara Sea, the Yenisei forms a bay.

Water regime of the Yenisei River

This river has a mixed type of food, but snow prevails, its share is about 50%, the share of rain - 38%, underground (in the upper reaches of the river) - 16%. Freeze begins to form in October.

Flood begins in April - May. During the spring ice drift, traffic jams can form. The water level at this time can fluctuate from 5 m in the widened upper reaches of the river to 16 m in narrower sections.

Yenisei ranks first among Russian rivers in terms of runoff. It is 624 km³.

Average water flow is 19,800 m³/s (at the mouth), it reaches its maximum near the Igarka River – 154,000 m³/s.

tributaries of the Yenisei

Left: Abakan, Kas, Khemchik, Sym, Kantegir, Dubches, Turukhan, Tanama, Greater and Lesser Kheta, Elogui

Right: Us, Tuba, Sisim, Kebezh, Mana, Angara, Kan, Big Pit, Bakhta, Podkamennaya andLower Tunguska, Dudinka, Khantaika, Kureika.

These are the largest tributaries, they are used in the economy, like the Yenisei River. The economic use of these waters is very important for humans.

Localities

Cities: Kyzyl, Sayanogorsk, Krasnoyarsk, Abakan, Shagonar, Minusinsk, Sosnovoborsk, Lesosibirsk, Zheleznogorsk, Yeniseisk, Dudinka, Igarka.

Small settlements: Karaul, Ust-Port, Cheryomushki, Shushenskoye, Maina, Berezovka, Kazachinskoye, Ust-Abakan, Kureika, Turukhan.

Yenisei River - economic use of waters

Economic use of the Yenisei plays an important role for the country. This river is an important waterway for the entire Krasnoyarsk Territory. For 3013 km (from Sayanogorsk to the mouth) the river is navigable all the time.

Main ports: Krasnoyarsk, Abakan, Maklakovo, Strelka, Turukhansk, Ust-Port, Igarka, Yeniseysk, Kyzyl, etc.

The Ob-Yenisei Canal, which connected the two largest rivers in Russia, was built at the end of the 19th century. It was very important, like the Yenisei River. Economic use of the canal: rafting of timber, transportation of mined minerals took place along it. The channel is currently abandoned and not in use.

The use of the Yenisei River by man has a significant impact on the ecological situation, given that several reservoirs and hydroelectric power stations have been built on the river.

HPP: Krasnoyarsk, Sayano-Shushenskaya and Mainsk.

The Yenisei River. Economic use and protection

The economic use of the Yenisei has a negative impact not only on the waters of the river itself, but also on nearby lands. Either the swamping of agricultural lands located near the river occurs, or, conversely, the water level of the Yenisei falls and the nearby territories are drained. Also, as a result of all this, a number of archaeological and natural monuments and biocenoses were destroyed. A large number of people were forced to relocate. Many plants growing on the banks of the river or in the river itself have been destroyed.

Uncontrolled fishing leads to a decrease in species diversity.

The Yenisei River used to play a huge role.

The economic use of its waters at nuclear power plants has led to radiation pollution of the water in the river. So in the 1950s, several nuclear reactors were put into operation at the mining and chemical enterprise, which used water from this river. After cleaning the nuclear reactors, the water was dumped back into the river.

The use of the Yenisei River by man leads to the fact that its waters are clogged with various garbage (both household and oil products). Therefore, it is necessary to take measures to protect the environment in order to preserve the flora and fauna of the river and the purity of its waters.