Few people know something about the Selenga River, its location, flora and fauna. However, it is one of the largest water streams that feed Lake Baikal.
The Selenga River (photo can be seen in the article) flows through the lands of Siberia, in particular, in Buryatia, the main part of this beauty is located in Mongolia. It is in this state that it originates. But in Russia, the watercourse flows into the cleanest Lake Baikal. Due to this neighborhood, the river is inhabited by burbot. Its turbulent waters appeal to this species of fish.
Origin of the name
According to scientists, the Selenga River has existed for more than 500 thousand years. There is no official information about where such a beautiful name came from. There are only suggestions about the possible origin of the hydronym. Among them, there are two most plausible options:
- formation of the name from the word of the Buryat people - "sel", which in Russian means "lake";
- Tungus origin, in the translation of the word sele - iron.
Short description
The sources of the Selenga are located near the Ider (a watercourse flowing in the territory of Mongolia). The river is very long, its length is about 1024km, while its smaller part (409 km) passes through the territory of the Russian Federation. It was formed due to the confluence of two water streams - Ider and Delger-Muren.
Of all the waters flowing into Lake Baikal, it is the Selenga River that is considered the most full-flowing. Scientists say that it is mostly responsible for the cleanliness of the reservoir. If we take into account the two bays Proval and Sor-Cherkalovo, which are located on the sides of the delta, then the width of the river in some places can reach 60 kilometers.
The powerful seething stream of the Selenga right next to Lake Baikal reduces its "pressure" and spreads into several channels, washouts, streams.
Features of the river
The Selenga River is quite stormy, has a flat appearance, periodically narrows to 1-2 km. In these places, it is divided into channels, where islands are formed. The Selenga Delta is a body of water, all around overgrown with reeds and water-loving plants. There are islands on the river that periodically flood.
The Selenga has a rich fauna. Due to the diversity of flora, a large number of ducks, insects and amphibians are found here. Also, the waters of the river are distinguished by an abundance of fish. Among them there are also rare species - ide, burbot, carp, Siberian roach, Baikal whitefish, taimen. Fishing is thriving here, and crustaceans are most often used as bait.
A fairly large river delta is formed at the place where it flows into Lake Baikal. The Selenga is the richest stream, which makes up half of all waters flowing into Baikal. In the spring there is a flood, in the summer and autumn the riverreplenished with rain. In winter, the Selenga, as a rule, gets smaller.
The tributaries of the river are: Dzhida, Temnik, Orongoy, Orkhon, Chikoy, Itanza. The water flow breaks into branches, thus forming a wetland, which is favorable for agriculture.
Industrial use
There are villages on the banks of the Sor-Cherkalovo - Istomino, Istok; in Proval Bay - Dulan, Oimur. In the river delta, there are only a few houses that belong to fishermen and hunters.
The Selenga River along the coastline is very sparsely populated. The local population is not engaged in agriculture, as there is an acute shortage of fertile land. Economic activity is developed only near the bays. The small population of the territory is also connected with the fact that after the earthquake that occurred in the 19th century, the steppe dropped heavily, became much lower than the level of Lake Baikal, and was flooded. Accordingly, it was impossible to live here.
Cities such as Sukhe Bator (Mongolia), Ulan-Ude, the village of Kabansk (territory of Russia) are located on beautiful shores.
Interesting facts
The Selenga River and its city, located in the delta, are included in the list of unique natural phenomena and are included in the Baikal buffer zone. This site is managed by UNESCO.
Until the end of the twentieth century, there was shipping on the river, connecting Lake Baikal and the city of Sukhbaatar. In the 1930s, it was proposed to build hydroelectric power stations just below the city of Ulan-Ude. However, the construction never took place becauseit was decided that this was not appropriate. This conclusion was reached due to the lack of the required number of consumers living in this area. And since the station was supposed to be very large-scale, they decided to abandon this idea.
Earlier, shipbuilding was developed here. The constructed ships descended into Lake Baikal. If there was a need for repair work, they were also raised along the shipping channels.
