Charysh River: description, characteristics of the water regime, tourist significance

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

Charysh is the third largest river flowing in the Altai Mountains. Its length is 547 km, and the catchment area is 22.2 km2. Most of this reservoir (60%) is located in the mountains. The Charysh River is a tributary of the Ob.

Physical-geographic description

The source of the Charysh is located on the northern slope of the Kogornsky ridge in the East-Kan region of the Altai Mountains, at an altitude of more than 2000 m. The mouth (the place where the river flows into the Ob) is located above the village of Ust-Charshskaya pier.

The river flows in a temperate continental climate. Almost the entire pool is located in the forest zone.

Characteristics of the flow of the Charysh River in the Altai Territory

	description of the area	flow speed (m/sec)
top	mountain	3-4
middle part	mountain	2-2, 5
lower part	plain (slope 0.12--0.76%)	1-1, 5

The mountainous part of the river is limited:

• from the north - Beshchalak ridge;
• from the south - Gorgon and Tigerin heights;
• from the east - Terektinsky ridge.

Throughout the river (except for the very lowlands) there are differences in depth. The last 25 km of the channel run along the Ob floodplain.

On the Pre-Altai Plain Charysh forms a river valley with four steep macrobends. Below the confluence of the Sentelek tributary, the river has a wide swampy floodplain up to 1.7 m high. The width of the floodplain varies from 2 to 7 km.

Tributaries

The Charysh River has more than 40 tributaries, among which there are several main ones.

right	left
Bashchelak, Maralikh, Tulata, Korgon, Sosnovka, Sentelek	Idol, Loktevka, Inya, Korgon, White, Porozikh

Due to the large fall, the left tributaries of the Charysh are very turbulent.

Shipping Opportunities

Navigation on the Charysh River is possible only in the section between the village of Ust-Kalmanka and a point 80 km closer to the source. Previously, this section of the channel was considered an important transport route for the export of grain and agricultural products.

As a result of deepening works carried out in the middle of the 19th century, this section became suitable for barges and passenger ships, but at present there is no navigation on Charysh.

Water mode

The Charysh River has a mixed diet. Snowmelt contributes the most. Averagewater consumption is 192 m3/sec.

The water temperature in the upper reaches is cold in summer, and in the lower reaches it can warm up to 20 °C. In winter, the river freezes (upper part - in December, flat - at the end of October). The ice breaks at the end of March.

In the period from April to July, the melting of snow on the plains and in the mountains causes a flood, which has an extended and multi-peak character. The maximum water level in the Charysh River is marked:

• at the end of April - 5 m;
• mid-May - 3 m;
• at the end of May - 2.5 m.

These peaks move upstream, accompanying the melting snow. As a result, in April, the level of the Charysh River rises most strongly in the lowlands, and at the end of May - in the upper reaches. The high water is accompanied by flooding of the floodplain.

The freezing period lasts from the first half of November to the beginning or middle of April. The thickness of the ice is approximately 1.5 meters. The formation of traffic jams during the spring ice drift also leads to an increase in the water level and flooding of the floodplain.

Flora and fauna

The forest zone of the Charysh river basin is divided into mountainous and flat. The first is dominated by trees such as spruce and fir. Above the Kogornsky ridge there is a zone of alpine meadows, characterized by bright forbs. The mid-mountain landscape is represented by a cedar-fir forest. In the treeless river valley, there is an abundance of shrubs, including berries.

The animal world is typical for the forest zone. The basin area is inhabited by large mammals (moose, wolf, bear, lynx), andalso smaller ones (hare, squirrel, roe deer, sable, etc.). The basin abounds with game birds. There are the following species:

• grouse;
• grouse;
• partridge;
• grouse.

The river itself is characterized by the presence of a large number of fish species. The main inhabitants are:

• pike;
• chebak;
• burbot;
• bream;
• taimen;
• grayling;
• bream;
• nelma;
• carp;
• path;
• perch;
• zander.

Such an abundance of aquatic life is a good help for fishing.

Tourism

Charysh is considered a natural and historical landmark of the Altai Territory. There are a large number of tourist routes on the territory, as well as recreation centers.

Tourism on the Charysh River has 4 main directions:

• hiking trails;
• speleological routes;
• alloys;
• horseback riding.

Speleological routes are held in the area of mountainous slopes located along the banks of the river. There are a large number of caves here.