The Onon is a
river
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
in
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...
and
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. It is long, and has a
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
of .
[Онон]
Great Soviet Encyclopedia
The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; , ''BSE'') is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Great Russian Enc ...
Course
It originates at the eastern slope of the
Khentii Mountains
The Khentii Mountains () are a mountain range in the Töv and Khentii Provinces in northeastern Mongolia.
History
The mountains were called the Langjuxu Mountains (狼居胥山) in ancient China. In 119 BC, the Han dynasty army fought the ...
. For 298 km it flows within Mongolia, before entering the
Khentei-Daur Highlands
The Khentei-Daur Highlands, also known as the Khentei-Chikoi Highlands, are a mountainous area in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia.
Owing to a number of factors such as tectonic faults, Fracture (geology), rock fissuring, and density of river networks, ...
region of the
Russian Far East
The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...
flowing along the
Stanovik Range
The Stanovik () is a mountain range in the Transbaikal Region (Zabaykalsky Krai) of Siberia, Russia. The southern end of the range is very close to the border with Mongolia. The nearest village is Mordoy (Мордой), Kyrinsky District.
The r ...
. In its lower reaches it flows between the
Mogoytuy (Могойтуйский хребет) and the
Borshchovochny (Борщовочный хребет) mountain ranges. It joins with the
Ingoda to form the
Shilka. Its river valley forms the eastern limit of the
Khentei-Daur Highlands
The Khentei-Daur Highlands, also known as the Khentei-Chikoi Highlands, are a mountainous area in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia.
Owing to a number of factors such as tectonic faults, Fracture (geology), rock fissuring, and density of river networks, ...
. Its main tributaries are the
Khurkhyn Gol,
Borzya
Borzya ( rus, Борзя, p=ˈborzʲə; , ''Boorjo''; , ''Boorj'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Borzinsky District in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, located southeast of Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai, ...
and
Unda
Unda or UNDA may refer to:
* Unda (genus), a genus of Amoebozoa
* Unda (plural "undae"), a term for an extraterrestrial dune field
* Unda (organization), the International Catholic Association for Radio and Television which was merged with OCIC t ...
from the right, and the
Agutsa,
Kyra and
Aga from the left.
[
The Onon—Shilka—]Amur
The Amur River () or Heilong River ( zh, s=黑龙江) is a perennial river in Northeast Asia, forming the natural border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China (historically the Outer Manchuria, Outer and Inner Manchuria). The Amur ...
water system is one of the world's ten longest rivers, measuring 1,032 km + 560 km + 2,874 km.
In history
The upper Onon is one of the areas that are claimed to be the place where Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...
was born and grew up. The seat of Genghis Khan was on the bank of river Onon.
''The Secret History of the Mongols
The ''Secret History of the Mongols'' is the oldest surviving literary work in the Mongolic languages. Written for the Borjigin, Mongol royal family some time after the death of Genghis Khan in 1227, it recounts his life and conquests, and parti ...
'' begins thus:
Usage
In 2014, around 0.5 million m3 of water was withdrawn from the river for livestock, cropland and industrial use in Mongolia.
See also
*List of rivers of Mongolia
This is a list of notable rivers of Mongolia, arranged geographically by river basin.
The Mongolian words for river are () and (), with the latter usually used for larger rivers. The Mongolian names also occasionally have a genitive constr ...
Notes
References
Rivers of Mongolia
Rivers of Zabaykalsky Krai
International rivers of Asia
{{Mongolia-river-stub