The Irtysh ( otk, 𐰼𐱅𐰾:𐰇𐰏𐰕𐰏, Ertis ügüzüg, mn, Эрчис мөрөн, ''Erchis mörön'', "erchleh", "twirl"; russian: Иртыш; kk, Ертіс, Ertis, ; Chinese: 额尔齐斯河, pinyin: ''É'ěrqísī hé'', Xiao'erjing: عَعَرٿِسِ حْ; ug, إيرتيش, Әртиш, ''Ertish''; tt-Cyrl, Иртеш, , , Siberian Tatar: Эйәртеш, ''Eya’rtes’'') is a river in Russia,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, and Kazakhstan. It is the chief tributary of the Ob and is also the second longest tributary river in the world after

Paraná River The Paraná River ( es, Río Paraná, links=no , pt, Rio Paraná, gn, Ysyry Parana) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Br ...

. The river's source lies in the

Mongolian Altai The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The m ...

in Dzungaria (the northern part of Xinjiang, China) close to the border with Mongolia. The Irtysh's main tributaries include the Tobol, Demyanka and the

Ishim Ishim may refer to: *Ishim (river), a river in Kazakhstan and Russia *Ishim, Tyumen Oblast, a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia *Ishim (angel), a rank of angels in the Jewish angelic hierarchy See also *Ishimsky (disambiguation) *Ishimbay Ishimbay ...

. The Ob-Irtysh system forms a major drainage basin in Asia, encompassing most of Western Siberia and the Altai Mountains.

Geography

Operational Navigation Chart D-5, 6th edition

From its origins as the ''Kara-Irtysh'' (Vast Irtysh, kara means Vast in Turkic languages but also black. But in the context and geographic terms usually refers vast) in the Mongolian Altay mountains in Xinjiang,

, the Irtysh flows northwest through Lake Zaysan in Kazakhstan, meeting the

and Tobol rivers before merging with the Ob near Khanty-Mansiysk in western Siberia, Russia after . The name Black Irtysh (''Kara-Irtysh'' in Kazakh, or ''Cherny Irtysh'' in Russian) is applied by some authors, especially in Russia and Kazakhstan, to the upper course of the river, from its source entering Lake Zaysan. The term White Irtysh, in opposition to the Black Irtysh, was occasionally used in the past to refer to the Irtysh below lake Zaysan; now this usage is largely obsolete.

Main tributaries

The largest tributaries of the Irtysh are, from source to mouth: * Kelan (right) * Burqin (right) * Kalzhyr (right) * Kürshim (right) * Naryn (right) *

Bukhtarma The Bukhtarma ( kk, Бұқтырма, translit=Būqtyrma, بۇقتىرما, ; russian: Бухтарма, translit=Bukhtarma) is a river of Kazakhstan. It flows through East Kazakhstan Region, and is a right tributary of the Irtysh. The river is l ...

(right) *

Ulba The Ulba ( kk, ءۇلبى, Үлбі, ''Ülbı''; russian: Ульба) is a river of Kazakhstan. It joins the Irtysh at Oskemen Oskemen ( kk, Өскемен, translit=Öskemen ), or Ust-Kamenogorsk (russian: Усть-Каменого́рск), is ...

(right) * Uba (right) * Chagan (left) * Om (right) * Tara (right) * Uy (right) * Osha (left) * Shish (right) *

(left) * Tobol (left) *

Noska The Noska is a river in Tyumen Oblast, Russia.Article
in the

Demyanka (right) *

Konda Konda may refer to: *Kondia or Konda, 18th century Mansi principality, Russia *Konda (river) in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia * Konda (Vitim), river in Buryatia, Russia * Konda, Indonesia, a town in West Papua * Konda, Angola, municipal ...

(left)

Economic use

In Kazakhstan and Russia,

tanker Tanker may refer to: Transportation * Tanker, a tank crewman (US) * Tanker (ship), a ship designed to carry bulk liquids ** Chemical tanker, a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk ** Oil tanker, also known as a petroleum ta ...

s, passenger and

Cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

s navigate the river during the ice-free season, between April and October.

Omsk Omsk (; rus, Омск, p=omsk) is the administrative center and largest city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia, and has a population of over 1.1 million. Omsk is the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk ...

, home to the headquarters of the state-owned Irtysh River Shipping Company, functions as the largest river port in Western Siberia. On the Kazakhstan section of the river there are presently three major

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

plants, namely at

, Ust-Kamenogorsk and Shulbinsk. The world's deepest lock, with a drop of , allows river traffic to by-pass the dam at Ust-Kamenogorsk. Plans exist for the construction of several more dams. Gorskii 04668u

Three dams have been constructed on the Chinese section of the Irtysh as well: the Keketuohai (可可托海) Dam (), the Kalasuke (喀腊塑克) Dam (), and the

Project 635 Dam The Project 635 Dam () is one of the three dams constructed on the Irtysh River in China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. The embankment dam is located in Fuhai County, about 56 km east of Beitun. It creates a reservoir (the Project 63 ...

. There are also the

Burqin Chonghu'er Dam The Chonghu'er Dam is a gravity dam on the river Burqin in Burqin County of Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China. The tall dam is constructed with roller-compacted concrete and supports a 110 MW hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydro ...

and the Burqin Shankou Dam on the Irtysh's right tributary, the

Burqin River Burqin may refer to: China * Burqin County, a county in Xinjiang * (布尔津镇), a town and the seat of Burqin County * (布尔津河), in Xinjiang Palestine * Burqin, Palestine * Burqin Church The Burqin Church ( ar, كنيسة برقين), ...

and the Jilebulake Dam and Haba River Shankou Dam on another right tributary, the Haba River. The

Northern river reversal The Northern river reversal or Siberian river reversal was an ambitious project to divert the flow of the Northern rivers in the Soviet Union, which "uselessly" drain into the Arctic Ocean, southwards towards the populated agricultural areas of C ...

proposals, widely discussed by the USSR planners and scientists in the 1960s and 1970s, would send some of the Irtysh's (and possibly Ob's) water to the water-deficient regions of central Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Some versions of this project would have seen the direction of flow of the Irtysh reversed in its section between the mouth of the Tobol (at Tobolsk) and the confluence of the Irtysh with the Ob at Khanty-Mansiysk, thus creating an "Anti-Irtysh". While these gigantic

interbasin transfer Interbasin transfer or transbasin diversion are (often hyphenated) terms used to describe man-made conveyance schemes which move water from one river basin where it is available, to another basin where water is less available or could be utilized ...

schemes were not implemented, a smaller Irtysh–Karaganda Canal was built between 1962 and 1974 to supply water to the dry Kazakh

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

s and to one of the country's main industrial center, Karaganda. In 2002, pipelines were constructed to supply water from the canal to the

and Kazakhstan's capital, Nur-Sultan. In China, a short canal was constructed in 1987 (water intake at ) to divert some of the Irtysh water to the endorrheic

Lake Ulungur A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

, whose level had been falling precipitously due to the increasing irrigation use of the lake's main affluent, the Ulungur River. (An English translation of the original paper published in the ''Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta'' in 1979). In the last years of the 20th century and the early 2000s, a much more major project, the Irtysh–Karamay–Urümqi Canal was completed. Increased water use in China has caused significant concerns among Kazakh and Russian environmentalists. According to a report published by Kazakhstan fishery researchers in 2013, the total Irtysh water use in China is about per year; as a result, only about 2/3 of what would be the river's "natural" flow (6 km³ out of 9 km³) reach the Kazakh border.

Cities

Major cities along the Irtysh, from source to mouth, include: * in China:

Fuyun Fuyun County () as the official romanized name, also transliterated from Uyghur as Koktokay County (; ; kk, كوكتوعاي اۋدانى‎), is a county situated in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the ...

, Beitun, Burqin * in Kazakhstan: Oskemen, Semey, Aksu, Pavlodar * in Russia:

, Tara, Tobolsk, Khanty-Mansiysk

Bridges

Seven railway bridges span the Irtysh. They are located in the following cities: * About 15 km downstream from

Serebryansk Serebryansk ( kz, Серебрянск, ''Serebriansk''; russian: Серебрянск) is a town in Zyryan District in East Kazakhstan Region of eastern Kazakhstan. Population: The town is located on the right bank of the Irtysh River, downst ...

(on the dead-end branch line from Oskemen to Zyryanovsk) * Oskemen * Semey, on the Turkestan–Siberia Railway * Pavlodar, on the South Siberian rail line ( Nur-Sultan to Barnaul) * near

Cherlak Cherlak (russian: Черлак) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities *Cherlak, Cherlaksky District, Omsk Oblast, a work settlement in Cherlaksky District of Omsk Oblast ;Rural localities * Cherlak, Republic ...

, on the Middle Siberian rail line ( Среднесибирская магистраль) *

, on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Opened in 1896, this is the oldest bridge on the river. * Tobolsk, on the Tyumen-

Surgut Surgut ( rus, Сургу́т, p=sʊrˈgut; Khanty: Сәрханӆ, ''Sərhanł'') is a city in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on the Ob River near its junction with the Irtysh River. It is one of the few cities in Russia to be lar ...

line As the Kuytun–Beitun Railway in China's Xinjiang is being extended toward Altay City, a railway bridge over the Irtysh at Beitun will need to be constructed as well. Numerous highway bridges over the Irtysh exist in China, Kazakhstan, and Russia. The last bridge downstream on the Irtysh, a highway bridge opened in 2004, can be found at Khanty-Mansiysk, right before the river's confluence with Ob.

History

A number of Mongol and

Turkic Turkic may refer to: * anything related to the country of Turkey * Turkic languages, a language family of at least thirty-five documented languages ** Turkic alphabets (disambiguation) ** Turkish language, the most widely spoken Turkic language * ...

peoples occupied the river banks for many centuries. In 657, Tang Dynasty general Su Dingfang defeated Ashina Helu, qaghan of the Western Turkic Khaganate, at the

Battle of Irtysh River The Battle of Irtysh River () or Battle of Yexi River () was a battle in 657 between Tang Dynasty general Su Dingfang and the Western Turkic Khaganate qaghan Ashina Helu during the Tang campaign against the Western Turks. It was fought along the ...

, ending the

Tang campaign against the Western Turks The Tang campaigns against the Western Turks, known as the Western Tujue in Chinese sources, were a series of military campaigns conducted by the Tang dynasty against the Western Turkic Khaganate in the 7th century AD. Early military conflicts we ...

. Helu's defeat ended the Khaganate, strengthened Tang control of Xinjiang, and led to Tang suzerainty over the western Turks. In the 15th and 16th centuries the lower and middle courses of the Irtysh lay within the Tatar Khanate of Sibir; its capital, Qashliq (also known as Sibir) was located on the Irtysh a few kilometres upstream from the mouth of the Tobol (where today's Tobolsk is situated). The Khanate of Sibir was

conquered Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...

by the Russians in the 1580s. The Russians started building fortresses and towns next to the sites of former Tatar towns; one of the first Russian towns in Siberia (after Tyumen) was Tobolsk, founded in 1587 at the fall of the Tobol into the Irtysh, downstream from the former Qashliq. Farther east, Tara was founded in 1594, roughly at the border of the taiga belt (to the north) and the

to the south. In the 17th century the Dzungar Khanate, formed by the Mongol Oirat people, became Russia's southern neighbor, and controlled the upper Irtysh. As a result of Russia's confrontation with the Dzungars in the

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

's era, the Russians founded the cities of

in 1716, Semipalatinsk in 1718, Ust-Kamenogorsk in 1720, and Petropavlovsk in 1752. The Chinese

Qing Empire The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

Dzungaria in the 1750s. This prompted an increase in the Russian authorities' attention to their borderland; in 1756, the

Orenburg Orenburg (russian: Оренбу́рг, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Ural River, southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is also very close to the Kazakhstan-Russia bor ...

Governor Ivan Neplyuyev even proposed the annexation of the Lake Zaysan region, but this project was forestalled by Chinese successes. Concerns were raised in Russia (1759) about the (theoretical) possibility of a Chinese fleet sailing from Lake Zaysan down the Irtysh and into Western Siberia. A Russian expedition visited Lake Zaysan in 1764, and concluded that such a riverine invasion would not be likely. Nonetheless, a chain of Russian pickets was established on the

Bukhtarma River The Bukhtarma ( kk, Бұқтырма, translit=Būqtyrma, بۇقتىرما, ; russian: Бухтарма, translit=Bukhtarma) is a river of Kazakhstan. It flows through East Kazakhstan Region, and is a right tributary of the Irtysh. The river is lo ...

, north of Lake Zaysan. Thus the border between the two empires in the Irtysh basin became roughly delineated, with a (sparse) chain of guard posts on both sides. The situation in the borderlands in the mid-19th century is described in a report by A. Abramof ( ru; 1865). Even though the Zaysan region was recognized by both parties as part of the

Qing empire The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

, it had been annually used, by fishing expeditions sent by the

Siberian Cossack Host Siberian Cossacks were Cossacks who settled in the Siberian region of Russia from the end of the 16th century, following Yermak Timofeyevich's conquest of Siberia. In early periods, practically the whole Russian population in Siberia, especially t ...

. The summer expeditions started in 1803, and in 1822–25 their range was expanded through the entire Lake Zaysan and to the mouth of the Black Irtysh. Through the mid-19th century, the Qing presence on the upper Irtysh was mostly limited to the annual visit of the Qing ''

amban Amban (Manchu language, Manchu and Mongolian language, Mongol: ''Amban'', Standard Tibetan, Tibetan: ་''am ben'', , Uyghur language, Uighur:''am ben'') is a Manchu language term meaning "high official", corresponding to a number of different ...

'' from Chuguchak to one of the Cossacks' fishing stations (''Batavski Piket''). The border between the Russian and the Qing empires in the Irtysh basin was established along the line fairly similar to China's modern border with Russia and Kazakhstan by the Convention of Peking of 1860. The actual border line pursuant to the convention was drawn by the Protocol of Chuguchak (1864), leaving Lake Zaysan on the Russian side. The Qing empire's military presence in the Irtysh basin crumbled during the 1862–77 Dungan Revolt. After the fall of the rebellion and the reconquest of Xinjiang by Zuo Zongtang, the border between the Russian and the Qing empires in the Irtysh basin was further slightly readjusted, in Russia's favor, by the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1881).

Cultural references

The Irtysh River serves as a backdrop in the epilogue of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's 1866 novel '' Crime and Punishment''. In Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's '' The GULAG Archipelago'', the chapter "The White Kitten" details Georgi Tenno's escape from a camp along this river.

Other uses

* FC Irtysh Omsk, a soccer team in

, Russia. * FC Irtysh Pavlodar, a soccer team in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan. *''Irtysh'' (''Иртыш''), a Russian military hospital ship, used at the Bering Strait Swim 2013.

Citations

General literature

* '' Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' *

External links

* {{Authority control Altai Mountains Braided rivers in Russia International rivers of Asia Rivers of China Rivers of Kazakhstan Rivers of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug Rivers of Omsk Oblast Rivers of Tyumen Oblast Rivers of Xinjiang Turkic toponyms West Siberian Plain