Irtysh River facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Irtysh River |
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Irtysh River watershed
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| Country | Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan, Russia |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Main source | Altay Mountains |
| River mouth | Ob River |
| Length | 4,248 km (2,640 mi) |
| Basin features | |
| Basin size | 1,643,000 km2 (634,000 sq mi) |
The Irtysh River is a river in Russia, China, and Kazakhstan. It is the chief tributary of the Ob River. The river's source lies in the Mongolian Altai in Dzungaria (the northern part of Xinjiang, China) close to the border with Mongolia.
The Irtysh's main tributaries include the Tobol River, Demyanka River and the Ishim River. The Ob-Irtysh system forms a major drainage basin in Asia, encompassing most of Western Siberia and the Altai Mountains.
Contents
Economic use
In Kazakhstan and Russia, tankers, passenger and freight boats navigate the river during the ice-free season, between April and October. Omsk, 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 plants. The world's deepest lock, with a drop of 42 metres (138 ft), allows river traffic to by-pass the dam at Ust-Kamenogorsk. Plans exist for the construction of several more dams.
Bridges
Seven railway bridges span the Irtysh. They are located in the following cities:
- About 15 km downstream from Serebryansk (on the dead-end branch line from Oskemen to Zyryanovsk)
- Oskemen
- Semey, on the Turkestan–Siberia Railway
- Pavlodar, on the South Siberian rail line (Astana to Barnaul)
- near Cherlak, on the Middle Siberian rail line (Среднесибирская магистраль)
- Omsk, on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Opened in 1896, this is the oldest bridge on the river.
- Tobolsk, on the Tyumen-Surgut 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.
Images for kids
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Map including the lower reaches of the Irtysh River
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The Irtysh in Omsk
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The Irtysh near Pavlodar in Kazakhstan
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Tobolsk river wharves in 1912
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An aerial view of the Irtysh in Omsk
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The Sixty Years of Victory Bridge in Omsk. (The name commemorates the 60th anniversary of the V-E Day)
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Irtysh River landscape in Burqin County, China
See also
In Spanish: Río Irtish para niños
