River Ob

The Ob River is a river in Western Siberia. The river is formed on Altay The confluence of the rivers Biya and Katun - the length of the Ob River from their confluence is 3 650 km, and from the source of the Irtysh - 5 410 km. Ob with Irtysh The longest river in Russia and the second longest in Asia. In the north, the river flows into the Kara Sea, Forming a gulf (about 800 km long), which is called the Ob Bay.

According to the nature of the river network, the conditions of feeding and the formation of the water regime, the Ob is divided into 3 areas: the upper (up to the mouth of the Tomi), the middle (up to the mouth of the Irtysh) and the lower (to the Ob Bay). In fact, the Ob is a continuation of the Katun River, but it is called the Ob only after the merger of Katun with Biya, that is, after the city of Biysk. In the beginning, the Ob visibly twists, and its course periodically changes in different directions - either to the north or to the west.

It flows in the Altai Territory through Barnaul, then separates the Altai Territory and the Novosibirsk Region for some time. It flows through the Novosibirsk region, in particular through Novosibirsk. North of Tomsk, it merges with Tomyu, and then with Chulym, after which it turns slightly to the west and near the city of Kolpashevo merges with the river Ket and goes through the city of Strezhevoy. In the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District, the Ob flows through Nizhnevartovsk, Surgut, Nefteyugansk, and some other cities. After the Khanty-Mansiysk, the Ob turns to the north, with the delta starting from this site, then, in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, the Ob flows through Salekhard and Labytnangi. After this place, it expands noticeably and flows into the Ob Bay of the Kara Sea.

The food of the river is mainly snow. During the spring-summer flood period, the river brings the bulk of the annual runoff. In the upper reaches, the flood is from the beginning of April, on the average from the second half of April, and in the lower one from the end of April to the beginning of May. The rising of the levels begins even at the freeze-up; At the opening of the river as a result of congestion - intensive short-term level rises. Because of this, some tributaries may have a reversal of the direction of the current. In the upper reaches, the high water runs out in July, the summer low water is unstable, and in September-October rainwater floods. In the middle and lower reaches, the flood recession with overlapping rainy floods continues until ice-free.

The Ob basin area is 2990 thousand km². According to this indicator, the river ranks first in Russia. The Ob is also the third river of water in Russia (after the Yenisei and Lena). In the southern part of the Ob River is the Novosibirsk Reservoir, formed by the dam of the Novosibirsk Hydroelectric Power Station. The dam was built with 1950 for 1961 years; When creating the reservoir, many villages and the main part of the city of Berdsk were flooded. The Ob Sea (as it is called by the locals) serves as a resting place for many Novosibirsk citizens, on its shores there are numerous recreation centers and sanatoriums. Here come tourists from neighboring regions. At the end of the 19th century, the Ob-Yenisei Canal was built, connecting the Ob with Yenisei. Currently, it is not used and abandoned. In the waters of the Ob and the Ob Bay, there are about 50 species and subspecies of fish, half of which are of industrial value. The most valuable species: sturgeon, sterlet, nelma, muxun, chir, tugun, whitefish, peled. The objects of the fishery are mostly pike-perch - pike-perch, pike, ide, burbot, bream, dace, roach, crucian carp, perch.