The Ussuri or Wusuli (russian: Уссури; ) is a river that runs through Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

and the southeast region of

Northeast China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of ...

. It rises in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range, flowing north and forming part of the Sino-Russian border (which is based on the Sino-Russian

Convention of Peking The Convention of Peking or First Convention of Peking is an agreement comprising three distinct treaties concluded between the Qing dynasty of China and Great Britain, France, and the Russian Empire in 1860. In China, they are regarded as amo ...

of 1860), until it joins the

Amur The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China (Inner Manchuria). The Amur proper is long ...

as a tributary to it near Khabarovsk. It is approximately long. The Ussuri drains the Ussuri basin, which covers . Its waters come from rain (60%), snow (30–35%), and subterranean springs. The average discharge is , and the average elevation is .

Names

The Ussuri has been known by many names. In Manchu, it was called the Usuri Ula or Dobi Bira (River of Foxes) and in Mongolian the Üssüri Müren. ''Ussuri'' is Manchu for ''soot-black river''.

History

* The Ussuri has a reputation for catastrophic

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

s. It freezes up in November and stays under the ice until April. The river teems with different kinds of

fish Fish are Aquatic animal, aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack Limb (anatomy), limbs with Digit (anatomy), digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous and bony fish as we ...

: grayling, sturgeon,

humpback salmon Pink salmon or humpback salmon (''Oncorhynchus gorbuscha'') is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family. It is the smallest and most abundant of the Pacific salmon. The scientific species name is based on the Russian common name for ...

(''gorbusha''), chum salmon (''keta''), and others. * During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the river marked one of the boundaries which Soviet forces crossed into Manchuria in Operation August Storm in 1945. * The

Sino-Soviet border conflict The Sino-Soviet border conflict was a seven-month undeclared military conflict between the Soviet Union and China in 1969, following the Sino-Soviet split. The most serious border clash, which brought the world's two largest communist states ...

of 1969 took place at the Soviet Damansky Island on the Ussuri River.

Tributaries

Major tributaries of the Ussuri are, from source to mouth: * Arsenyevka (left) * Sungacha (left) * Muling (left) * Bolshaya Ussurka (right) * Bikin (right) * Naoli (left) * Khor (right)

References

Sources

External links

Article containing a detail map
dead link as of 18 March 2017] *http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/80349e/80349E10.GIF {{Authority control Rivers of Khabarovsk Krai Rivers of Primorsky Krai Rivers of Heilongjiang Border rivers China–Russia border International rivers of Asia