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The Angara River




The Angara River
Length: 1779 km
Area of ​​the pool: 1 040 000 km2

The Angara River is a river in Eastern Siberia, the largest right tributary Yenisei, The only river flowing from Lake Baikal. It flows through the territory of the Irkutsk Region and the Krasnoyarsk Territory of Russia.

Geographical position

The area of ​​the basin is 1 040 thousand km2, Including without the basin of Lake Baikal 468 thousand km2. The Angara starts from Baikal with a stream of width 1,1 km and flows first in the north direction. The site from the source to the city of Irkutsk is an Irkutsk reservoir. In the north-west of the Irkutsk region on the Angara there is the Bratsk water reservoir, on which stands the Bratsk hydroelectric power station. After the bend in the Angara, below the Bratsk water reservoir, is located Ust-Ilimsk. Then the river turns to the west - to the Krasnoyarsk Territory, where it joins the Yenisei near Lesosibirsk. The origin of the Angara is connected with the character of the morphology of the valley of the river at the source, reminiscent of the crevice, the gorge through which the Angara breaks out of Lake Baikal.

The Angara River
Hydrology of the river

The water flow in the source of the Angara is 1 855 m3/ S, in Padun (Bratsk) - 2 814 (up to 14 200), in Boguchany - 3 515 m3/ S, at the mouth of 4 530 m3/ S or about 143 km3 in year. For 46 years of observations at the hydropost "Tatarka" near the mouth the minimum value of the average annual water discharge was 3767 m3/ S in 1964 year, the maximum in 1995 year - 5 521 m3/from. The highest average monthly flow was observed in May of 1966 and was 12 600 m3/from. The main runoff is regulated by waterworks on the river, the reservoirs of which are seasonal and multi-year regulated.

Economic use

With a relatively small length of 1779 km, the Angara has a significant difference of 380 m and a large hydropower potential.

The Angara River

Three hydroelectric power stations were built on the river, which form the Angarsk cascade of hydroelectric power stations: in order from the source - Irkutsk, Bratskaya and Ust-Ilim. The fourth stage of the cascade, Boguchanskaya HPP, is under construction. In the future it is planned to build the Lower Angarsk cascade of hydroelectric power stations. Before the construction of the HPP, safe navigation was impossible due to the rapids on the river, which was a serious obstacle in the development of the region. Passage of vessels was possible in the lower reaches from the Yenisei to the Boguchansk rapids, and in the upper reaches from Baikal to the Padun rapids. The river also carried out a dense forest rafting. As of 2009, river transportations are possible in four isolated areas: the Angara part of the Irkutsk Reservoir without Lake Baikal (52 km); From the dam of the Bratsk HPP to the Irkutsk HPP (606 km); Ust-Ilim reservoir (292 km); From the Yenisei to the Boguchansk rapids (445 km). Angara in the Boguchansky District After the completion of the Boguchanskaya HPP - with a reservoir of length 375 km - it will be possible to pass low-draft vessels all along the river, provided that the Angara hydrosystems will be equipped with locks or ship lifts. The section of the current below the Boguchansk rapids to the mouth remains shallow and unavailable for vessels of the river-sea class.

The Angara River



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