Amur
Encyclopedia
The Amur or Heilong Jiang (Even
: Тамур (Tamur), Manchu
: , Sahaliyan Ula; ; , ɐˈmur) is the world's tenth longest river
, forming the border between the Russian Far East
(Outer Manchuria
) and Northeastern China
(Inner Manchuria).
at the confluence of its two major affluents, the Shilka River
and the Ergune River
, at an elevation of 303 metres (994.1 ft). It flows east forming the border between China and Russia, and slowly makes a great arc to the southeast for about 400 kilometres (248.5 mi), receiving many tributaries and passing many small towns. At Huma, it is joined by a major tributary, the Huma River. Afterwards it continues to flow south until between the cities of Blagoveschensk (Russia) and Heihe
(China), it widens significantly as it is joined by the Zeya River
, one of its most important tributaries.
The Amur arcs to the east and turns southeast again at the confluence with the Bureya River
, then does not receive another significant tributary for nearly 250 kilometres (155.3 mi) before its confluence with its largest tributary, the Songhua River
, at Tongjiang. At the confluence with the Songhua the river turns northeast, now flowing towards Khabarovsk
, where it joins the Ussuri River
and ceases to define the Russia-China border. Now the river spreads out dramatically into a braided character, flowing north-northeast through a wide valley in eastern Russia, passing Amursk
and Komsomolsk-on-Amur
. The valley narrows after about 200 kilometres (124.3 mi) and the river again flows north onto plains at the confluence with the Amgun River
. Shortly after the Amur turns sharply east and into an estuary
at Nikolayevsk-on-Amur
, about 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) downstream of which it flows into the Strait of Tartary
(also called Tatar Strait).
(Russian Manchuria) and Inner Manchuria, respectively. The Chinese province of Heilongjiang
on the south bank of the river is named after it, as is the Russian Amur Oblast
on the north bank. The name Black River (sahaliyan ula) was used by the Manchu and the Qing Dynasty
who always regarded this river as sacred.
The Amur River is a very important symbol of — and an important geopolitical factor in — Chinese-Russian relations. The Amur was especially important in the period of time following the Sino-Soviet political split in the 1960s.
For many centuries the Amur Valley was populated by the Tungusic (Evenki
, Solon, Ducher
, Nanai, Ulch
) and Mongol
(Daur) people, and, near its mouth, by the Nivkhs. For many of them, fishing in the Amur and its tributaries was the main source of their livelihood. Until the 17th century, these people were not known to the Europeans, and little known to the Chinese, who sometimes collectively described them as the Wild Jurchens
. The term Yupi Dazi ("Fish-skin Tatars") was used for the Nanais and related groups as well, owing to their traditional clothes made of fish skins.
The Mongols, ruling China as the Yuan Dynasty
, established a tenuous military presence on the lower Amur in the 13-14th centuries; ruins of a Yuan-era temple have been excavated near the village of Tyr
.
During the Yongle and Xuande era (early 15th century) the Ming Dynasty
in China reached the Amur as well in their drive to establish control over the lands adjacent to the Ming Empire
from the northeast, which were to become later known as Manchuria. Expeditions headed by the eunuch
Yishiha
reached Tyr
several times between 1411 and the early 1430s, re-building (twice) the Yongning Temple and obtaining at least nominal allegiance of the lower Amur's tribes to the Ming government. Some sources report also the Chinese presence during the same period on the middle Amur, with a fort - a predecessor of later Aigun
- existing for about 20 years during the Yongle era on the left (northwestern) shore of the Amur, downstream from the mouth of the Zeya
(opposite to the location of the later, Qing
, Aigun). In any event, the Ming presence on the Amur was as short-lived as it was tenuous; soon after the end of the Yongle reign, the dynasty's frontiers retreated to southern Manchuria.
The 17th century saw the conflict over the control of the Amur between the Russia
ns, expanding into eastern Siberia, and the recently risen Qing Empire
, whose original base was in south-eastern Manchuria. Russian Cossack
expeditions led by Vassili Poyarkov
and Yerofey Khabarov
explored the Amur and its tributaries in 1643-1644 and 1649–1651, respectively. The Cossacks established the fort of Albazin
on the upper Amur, at the site of the former capital of the Solons
.
At the time, the Qing were busy with conquering China; but a few decades later, during the Kangxi reign they turned their attention to their north-Manchurian backyard. Aigun
was reestablished near the supposed Ming site ca. 1683-1684, and a military expeditions was sent upstream, to dislodge the Russians, whose Albazin establishment deprived the Manchu rulers from the tribute of sable
pelts that the Solons and Daurs of the area would supply otherwise. Albazin
fell during a short military campaign in 1685. The hostilities were concluded in 1689 by the Treaty of Nerchinsk
, which left the entire Amur valley, from the convergence of the Shilka
and the Argun
downstream, in the Chinese hands.
The Amur region remained a relative backwater of the Qing Empire for the next century and a half, with Aigun
being practically the only major town on the river. Russians re-appeared on the river in the mid 19th century, forcing China to yield all lands north of the river to the Russian Empire
by the Treaty of Aigun
(1858). Lands east of the Ussury and the lower Amur were acquired by Russia as well, by the Convention of Peking
(1860).
The acquisition of the lands on the Amur and the Ussury was followed by the migration of Russian settlers to the region and the construction of such cities as Blagoveshchensk
and, later, Khabarovsk
.
Numerous river steamers plied the Amur by the late 19th century. Mining dredges were imported from America to work the placer gold of the river. Barge and river traffic was greatly hindered by the Civil War of 1918-22. The ex-German Yangtse gunboats Vaterland
and Otter
, on Chinese Nationalist Navy service, patrolled the Amur in the 1920s.
for over 4,444 km (2,761 mi), from the mountain
s of northeastern China
to the Sea of Okhotsk
(near Nikolayevsk-na-Amure), it drains a remarkable watershed that includes diverse landscapes of desert
, steppe
, tundra
, and taiga
, eventually emptying into the Pacific Ocean through the Strait of Tartary
, where the mouth of the river faces the northern end of the island of Sakhalin
.
The Amur has always been closely associated with the island of Sakhalin
at its mouth, and most names for the island, even in the languages of the indigenous peoples of the region, are derived from the name of the river: "Sakhalin" derives from a Tungusic
dialectal form cognate with Manchu sahaliyan ("black," as in sahaliyan ula, "Black River"), while Ainu and Japanese "Karaputo" or "Karafuto" is derived from the Ainu
name of the Amur or its mouth. Anton Chekhov
vividly described the Amur River in writings about his journey to Sakhalin Island in 1890.
The average annual discharge varies from 6000 m³/s (1980) - 12000 m³/s (1957), leading to an average 9819 m³/s or 310 km³ per year. The maximum runoff measured occurred in Oct 1951 with 30700 m³/s whereas the minimum discharge was recorded in March 1946 with a mere 514 m³/s.
, was completed in 1916, allowing the trains on the Transsiberian Railway to cross the river year-round without using ferries or rail tracks on top of the river ice. In 1941 a railway tunnel was added as well (see Тоннель под Амуром).
Later, a railway bridge over the Amur at Komsomolsk-on-Amur
(1975) and a highway bridge at Khabarovsk (1999) were constructed.
Valery Solomonovich Gurevich
, government vice-chairman of Russia’s Jewish Autonomous Oblast
said that China and Russia started construction of the Amur Bridge Project
at the end of 2007. The bridge will link Nizhneleninskoye
in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast with Tongjiang
in Heilongjiang Province. The 2,197-meter-long bridge, with an estimated investment of nearly US$230 million, is expected to be finished by the end of 2010, Gurevich said. Gurevich said that the proposal to construct a bridge across the river was actually made by Russia, in view of growing cargo transportation demands. "The bridge, in the bold estimate, will be finished in three years," Gurevich said.
Even language
The Even language is a Tungusic language spoken by the Evens in Siberia. It is spoken by widely scattered communities of reindeer herders from Kamchatka and the Sea of Okhotsk in the east to the River Lena in the west, and from the Arctic coast in the north to the River Aldan in the south...
: Тамур (Tamur), Manchu
Manchu language
Manchu is a Tungusic endangered language spoken in Northeast China; it used to be the language of the Manchu, though now most Manchus speak Mandarin Chinese and there are fewer than 70 native speakers of Manchu out of a total of nearly 10 million ethnic Manchus...
: , Sahaliyan Ula; ; , ɐˈmur) is the world's tenth longest river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
, forming the border between the Russian Far East
Russian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
(Outer Manchuria
Outer Manchuria
Outer Manchuria , is the territory ceded by China to Russia in the Treaty of Aigun in 1858 and the Treaty of Peking in 1860. . The northern part of the area was also in dispute between 1643 and 1689...
) and Northeastern China
Northeast China
Northeast China, historically known in English as Manchuria, is a geographical region of China, consisting of the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The region is sometimes called the Three Northeast Provinces...
(Inner Manchuria).
Course
It rises in the hills of western ManchuriaManchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
at the confluence of its two major affluents, the Shilka River
Shilka River
Shilka is a river in Zabaykalsky Krai, south-eastern Russia. It has a length . It originates as a confluence of the Onon and Ingoda rivers. Its confluence with the Ergune on the Russia-China border gives rise to the Amur River. The river is navigable for its entire length....
and the Ergune River
Argun River (Asia)
Ergune or Argun is the river which is a part of the Russia–China border. Its upper reaches are known as Hailar River in China. Its length is 1,007 mi...
, at an elevation of 303 metres (994.1 ft). It flows east forming the border between China and Russia, and slowly makes a great arc to the southeast for about 400 kilometres (248.5 mi), receiving many tributaries and passing many small towns. At Huma, it is joined by a major tributary, the Huma River. Afterwards it continues to flow south until between the cities of Blagoveschensk (Russia) and Heihe
Heihe
Heihe is a city in Heilongjiang, China.It is located at , on the Russian border, on the south bank of the Amur River, across the river from the Russian city of Blagoveshchensk...
(China), it widens significantly as it is joined by the Zeya River
Zeya River
Zeya River , 1,242 km long, is a northern tributary of the Amur River. It rises in the Tokiysky Stanovik mountain ridge, a part of the Stanovoy Range. The first Russian to enter the area was Vassili Poyarkov....
, one of its most important tributaries.
The Amur arcs to the east and turns southeast again at the confluence with the Bureya River
Bureya River
The Bureya River is a 623 km long south-flowing tributary of the Amur River. Its name comes from the Evenk word birija, meaning river...
, then does not receive another significant tributary for nearly 250 kilometres (155.3 mi) before its confluence with its largest tributary, the Songhua River
Songhua River
The Songhua or Sunggari River is a river in Northeast China, and is the largest tributary of the Heilong River , flowing about from Changbai Mountains through Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. The river drains of land, and has an annual discharge of .As the Second Songhua River, it joins the...
, at Tongjiang. At the confluence with the Songhua the river turns northeast, now flowing towards Khabarovsk
Khabarovsk
Khabarovsk is the largest city and the administrative center of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. It is located some from the Chinese border. It is the second largest city in the Russian Far East, after Vladivostok. The city became the administrative center of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia...
, where it joins the Ussuri River
Ussuri River
The Usuri ula is a river in the south of the Outer Manchuria and east of Inner Manchuria . It rises in the Sikhote-Alin range, flowing north, forming part of the Sino-Russian border based on the Sino-Russian Convention of Peking in 1860, until it joins the Amur River at Khabarovsk . It is...
and ceases to define the Russia-China border. Now the river spreads out dramatically into a braided character, flowing north-northeast through a wide valley in eastern Russia, passing Amursk
Amursk
Amursk is a town in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, located on the left bank of the Amur River some south of Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Population: -History:...
and Komsomolsk-on-Amur
Komsomolsk-on-Amur
Komsomolsk-on-Amur is a city in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, situated on the left bank of Amur River. It is located on the BAM railway line, northeast of Khabarovsk. Population: -Geography and climate:...
. The valley narrows after about 200 kilometres (124.3 mi) and the river again flows north onto plains at the confluence with the Amgun River
Amgun River
Amgun River is a river in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia which flows northeast and joins the Amur River from the left near its mouth. The length of the river is 723 km. The area of its basin is 55,500 km². The Amgun is formed by the confluence of the Ayakit and Suduk Rivers. Its main tributary...
. Shortly after the Amur turns sharply east and into an estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
at Nikolayevsk-on-Amur
Nikolayevsk-on-Amur
Nikolayevsk-on-Amur often romanized as Nikolayevsk-na-Amure, is a town and the administrative center of Nikolayevsky District of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia located on the Amur River close to its liman in the Pacific Ocean...
, about 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) downstream of which it flows into the Strait of Tartary
Strait of Tartary
Strait of Tartary is a strait in the Pacific Ocean dividing the Russian island of Sakhalin from mainland Asia , connecting the Sea of Okhotsk on the north with...
(also called Tatar Strait).
History and context
In many historical references these two geopolitical entities are known as Outer ManchuriaOuter Manchuria
Outer Manchuria , is the territory ceded by China to Russia in the Treaty of Aigun in 1858 and the Treaty of Peking in 1860. . The northern part of the area was also in dispute between 1643 and 1689...
(Russian Manchuria) and Inner Manchuria, respectively. The Chinese province of Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang
For the river known in Mandarin as Heilong Jiang, see Amur River' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. "Heilongjiang" literally means Black Dragon River, which is the Chinese name for the Amur. The one-character abbreviation is 黑...
on the south bank of the river is named after it, as is the Russian Amur Oblast
Amur Oblast
Amur Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , situated about east of Moscow on the banks of the Amur and Zeya Rivers. It shares its border with the Sakha Republic in the north, Khabarovsk Krai and the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in the east, People's Republic of China in the south, and Zabaykalsky...
on the north bank. The name Black River (sahaliyan ula) was used by the Manchu and the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
who always regarded this river as sacred.
The Amur River is a very important symbol of — and an important geopolitical factor in — Chinese-Russian relations. The Amur was especially important in the period of time following the Sino-Soviet political split in the 1960s.
For many centuries the Amur Valley was populated by the Tungusic (Evenki
Evenki
Evenki or Evenk may refer to*Evenks, or Evenki, a people of Russia and China*Evenki languages, languages of Tungusic family**Evenki language, a subdivision of Evenki languages, spoken by Evenks...
, Solon, Ducher
Duchers
The Duchers was the Russian name of the people populating the shores of the middle course of the Amur River, approximately from the mouth of the Zeya down to the mouth of the Ussury, and possibly even somewhat further downstream...
, Nanai, Ulch
Ulchs
The Ulch are an indigenous people of the Russian Far East who speak a Tungusic language, Ulch. Over 90% of Ulchis live in Ulchsky District of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia...
) and Mongol
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
(Daur) people, and, near its mouth, by the Nivkhs. For many of them, fishing in the Amur and its tributaries was the main source of their livelihood. Until the 17th century, these people were not known to the Europeans, and little known to the Chinese, who sometimes collectively described them as the Wild Jurchens
Wild Jurchens
The Wild Jurchens were a grouping of the Jurchens as identified by the Chinese of the Ming Dynasty. They were the nouthernmost group of the Jurchen people in the fourteenth century, inhabiting the northernmost part of Manchuria from the western side of the Greater Khingan mountains to the Ussuri...
. The term Yupi Dazi ("Fish-skin Tatars") was used for the Nanais and related groups as well, owing to their traditional clothes made of fish skins.
The Mongols, ruling China as the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
, established a tenuous military presence on the lower Amur in the 13-14th centuries; ruins of a Yuan-era temple have been excavated near the village of Tyr
Tyr, Russia
Tyr is a settlement in Ulchsky District of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, located on the right bank of the Amur River, near the mouth of the Amgun River, about upstream from Nikolayevsk-on-Amur....
.
During the Yongle and Xuande era (early 15th century) the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
in China reached the Amur as well in their drive to establish control over the lands adjacent to the Ming Empire
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
from the northeast, which were to become later known as Manchuria. Expeditions headed by the eunuch
Eunuch
A eunuch is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences...
Yishiha
Yishiha
Yishiha was a eunuch in the service of the Ming Dynasty emperors of China who carried out several expeditions down the Sungari and Amur Rivers, and is credited with the construction of the only two Ming Dynasty Buddhist temples ever built on the territory of today's Russia.- Early life:It is...
reached Tyr
Tyr, Russia
Tyr is a settlement in Ulchsky District of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, located on the right bank of the Amur River, near the mouth of the Amgun River, about upstream from Nikolayevsk-on-Amur....
several times between 1411 and the early 1430s, re-building (twice) the Yongning Temple and obtaining at least nominal allegiance of the lower Amur's tribes to the Ming government. Some sources report also the Chinese presence during the same period on the middle Amur, with a fort - a predecessor of later Aigun
Aigun
Aigun was a historic town of China in northern Manchuria, situated on the right bank of the Amur River, some 30 km south from the central urban area of Heihe .The Chinese name of the town, which literally means "Bright Jade", is a transliteration of the original Manchu Aigun was a historic...
- existing for about 20 years during the Yongle era on the left (northwestern) shore of the Amur, downstream from the mouth of the Zeya
Zeya River
Zeya River , 1,242 km long, is a northern tributary of the Amur River. It rises in the Tokiysky Stanovik mountain ridge, a part of the Stanovoy Range. The first Russian to enter the area was Vassili Poyarkov....
(opposite to the location of the later, Qing
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
, Aigun). In any event, the Ming presence on the Amur was as short-lived as it was tenuous; soon after the end of the Yongle reign, the dynasty's frontiers retreated to southern Manchuria.
The 17th century saw the conflict over the control of the Amur between the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
ns, expanding into eastern Siberia, and the recently risen Qing Empire
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
, whose original base was in south-eastern Manchuria. Russian Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
expeditions led by Vassili Poyarkov
Vassili Poyarkov
Vassili Danilovich Poyarkov was the first Russian explorer of the Amur region.The Russian expansion into Siberia began with the conquest of the Khanate of Sibir in 1582. By 1643 they reached the Pacific at Okhotsk...
and Yerofey Khabarov
Yerofey Khabarov
Yerofey Pavlovich Khabarov or Svyatitsky Erofej Pavlovič Chabarov , was a Russian entrepreneur and adventurer, best known for his exploring the Amur river region and his attempts to colonize the area for Russia...
explored the Amur and its tributaries in 1643-1644 and 1649–1651, respectively. The Cossacks established the fort of Albazin
Albazin
Albazino is a village in Skovorodinsky District of Amur Oblast, Russia, noted as the site of Albazin , the first Russian settlement on the Amur River....
on the upper Amur, at the site of the former capital of the Solons
Evenki
Evenki or Evenk may refer to*Evenks, or Evenki, a people of Russia and China*Evenki languages, languages of Tungusic family**Evenki language, a subdivision of Evenki languages, spoken by Evenks...
.
Aigun
Aigun was a historic town of China in northern Manchuria, situated on the right bank of the Amur River, some 30 km south from the central urban area of Heihe .The Chinese name of the town, which literally means "Bright Jade", is a transliteration of the original Manchu Aigun was a historic...
was reestablished near the supposed Ming site ca. 1683-1684, and a military expeditions was sent upstream, to dislodge the Russians, whose Albazin establishment deprived the Manchu rulers from the tribute of sable
Sable
The sable is a species of marten which inhabits forest environments, primarily in Russia from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, in northern Mongolia and China and on Hokkaidō in Japan. Its range in the wild originally extended through European Russia to Poland and Scandinavia...
pelts that the Solons and Daurs of the area would supply otherwise. Albazin
fell during a short military campaign in 1685. The hostilities were concluded in 1689 by the Treaty of Nerchinsk
Treaty of Nerchinsk
The Treaty of Nerchinsk of 1689 was the first treaty between Russia and China. The Russians gave up the area north of the Amur River as far as the Stanovoy Mountains and kept the area between the Argun River and Lake Baikal. This border along the Argun River and Stanovoy Mountains lasted until...
, which left the entire Amur valley, from the convergence of the Shilka
Shilka River
Shilka is a river in Zabaykalsky Krai, south-eastern Russia. It has a length . It originates as a confluence of the Onon and Ingoda rivers. Its confluence with the Ergune on the Russia-China border gives rise to the Amur River. The river is navigable for its entire length....
and the Argun
Argun River (Asia)
Ergune or Argun is the river which is a part of the Russia–China border. Its upper reaches are known as Hailar River in China. Its length is 1,007 mi...
downstream, in the Chinese hands.
The Amur region remained a relative backwater of the Qing Empire for the next century and a half, with Aigun
Aigun
Aigun was a historic town of China in northern Manchuria, situated on the right bank of the Amur River, some 30 km south from the central urban area of Heihe .The Chinese name of the town, which literally means "Bright Jade", is a transliteration of the original Manchu Aigun was a historic...
being practically the only major town on the river. Russians re-appeared on the river in the mid 19th century, forcing China to yield all lands north of the river to the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
by the Treaty of Aigun
Treaty of Aigun
The Treaty of Aigun was a 1858 treaty between the Russian Empire, and the empire of the Qing Dynasty, the sinicized-Manchu rulers of China, that established much of the modern border between the Russian Far East and Manchuria , which is now known as Northeast China...
(1858). Lands east of the Ussury and the lower Amur were acquired by Russia as well, by the Convention of Peking
Convention of Peking
The Convention of Peking or the First Convention of Peking is the name used for three different unequal treaties, which were concluded between Qing China and the United Kingdom, France, and Russia.-Background:...
(1860).
The acquisition of the lands on the Amur and the Ussury was followed by the migration of Russian settlers to the region and the construction of such cities as Blagoveshchensk
Blagoveshchensk
Blagoveshchensk is a city and the administrative center of Amur Oblast, Russia. Population: -Early history of the region:The early residents of both sides of the Amur in the region of today's Blagoveshchensk were the Daurs and Duchers...
and, later, Khabarovsk
Khabarovsk
Khabarovsk is the largest city and the administrative center of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. It is located some from the Chinese border. It is the second largest city in the Russian Far East, after Vladivostok. The city became the administrative center of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia...
.
Numerous river steamers plied the Amur by the late 19th century. Mining dredges were imported from America to work the placer gold of the river. Barge and river traffic was greatly hindered by the Civil War of 1918-22. The ex-German Yangtse gunboats Vaterland
Vaterland
Vaterland may refer to*Vaterland, Norway, a neighborhood in Oslo*SS Vaterland, later known as SS Leviathan*Liechtensteiner Vaterland, largest daily newspaper in Liechtenstein...
and Otter
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
, on Chinese Nationalist Navy service, patrolled the Amur in the 1920s.
Direction
Flowing across northeast AsiaAsia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
for over 4,444 km (2,761 mi), from the mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
s of northeastern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
to the Sea of Okhotsk
Sea of Okhotsk
The Sea of Okhotsk is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, lying between the Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, the island of Hokkaidō to the far south, the island of Sakhalin along the west, and a long stretch of eastern Siberian coast along the west and...
(near Nikolayevsk-na-Amure), it drains a remarkable watershed that includes diverse landscapes of desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
, steppe
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
, tundra
Tundra
In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...
, and taiga
Taiga
Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...
, eventually emptying into the Pacific Ocean through the Strait of Tartary
Strait of Tartary
Strait of Tartary is a strait in the Pacific Ocean dividing the Russian island of Sakhalin from mainland Asia , connecting the Sea of Okhotsk on the north with...
, where the mouth of the river faces the northern end of the island of Sakhalin
Sakhalin
Sakhalin or Saghalien, is a large island in the North Pacific, lying between 45°50' and 54°24' N.It is part of Russia, and is Russia's largest island, and is administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast...
.
The Amur has always been closely associated with the island of Sakhalin
Sakhalin
Sakhalin or Saghalien, is a large island in the North Pacific, lying between 45°50' and 54°24' N.It is part of Russia, and is Russia's largest island, and is administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast...
at its mouth, and most names for the island, even in the languages of the indigenous peoples of the region, are derived from the name of the river: "Sakhalin" derives from a Tungusic
Tungusic languages
The Tungusic languages form a language family spoken in Eastern Siberia and Manchuria by Tungusic peoples. Many Tungusic languages are endangered, and the long-term future of the family is uncertain...
dialectal form cognate with Manchu sahaliyan ("black," as in sahaliyan ula, "Black River"), while Ainu and Japanese "Karaputo" or "Karafuto" is derived from the Ainu
Ainu language
Ainu is one of the Ainu languages, spoken by members of the Ainu ethnic group on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaidō....
name of the Amur or its mouth. Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
vividly described the Amur River in writings about his journey to Sakhalin Island in 1890.
The average annual discharge varies from 6000 m³/s (1980) - 12000 m³/s (1957), leading to an average 9819 m³/s or 310 km³ per year. The maximum runoff measured occurred in Oct 1951 with 30700 m³/s whereas the minimum discharge was recorded in March 1946 with a mere 514 m³/s.
Bridges and tunnels
The first permanent bridge across the Amur, the Khabarovsk BridgeKhabarovsk Bridge
Khabarovsk Bridge is a road and rail bridge built in 1999. It crosses the Amur River in eastern Russia, and connects the urban-type settlement of Imeni Telmana in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, and city of Khabarovsk in the Khabarovsk Krai...
, was completed in 1916, allowing the trains on the Transsiberian Railway to cross the river year-round without using ferries or rail tracks on top of the river ice. In 1941 a railway tunnel was added as well (see Тоннель под Амуром).
Later, a railway bridge over the Amur at Komsomolsk-on-Amur
Komsomolsk-on-Amur
Komsomolsk-on-Amur is a city in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, situated on the left bank of Amur River. It is located on the BAM railway line, northeast of Khabarovsk. Population: -Geography and climate:...
(1975) and a highway bridge at Khabarovsk (1999) were constructed.
Valery Solomonovich Gurevich
Valery Solomonovich Gurevich
Valery Solomonovich Gurevich a Russian politician, is the vice-governor of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast.-Leadership in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast:...
, government vice-chairman of Russia’s Jewish Autonomous Oblast
Jewish Autonomous Oblast
The Jewish Autonomous Oblast is a federal subject of Russia situated in the Russian Far East, bordering Khabarovsk Krai and Amur Oblast of Russia and Heilongjiang province of China. Its administrative center is the town of Birobidzhan....
said that China and Russia started construction of the Amur Bridge Project
Amur Bridge Project
The Amur Bridge Project was announced in 2007 by Valery Solomonovich Gurevich, the vice-chairman of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. He stated that China and Russia might start construction of the first railway bridge over the Amur River at the end of 2007...
at the end of 2007. The bridge will link Nizhneleninskoye
Nizhneleninskoye
Nizhneleninskoye is a village in Leninsky District of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. Located on the Amur River, Nizhneleninskoye is the location for the Amur Bridge Project which will cross over the river to China. Nizhneleninskoye will be joined by a railway bridge to Tongjiang in Heilongjiang...
in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast with Tongjiang
Tongjiang
Tongjiang is a city of 160,000 in eastern Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, located at the confluence and on the right banks of the Songhua and Amur Rivers, the latter which marks the border with Russia...
in Heilongjiang Province. The 2,197-meter-long bridge, with an estimated investment of nearly US$230 million, is expected to be finished by the end of 2010, Gurevich said. Gurevich said that the proposal to construct a bridge across the river was actually made by Russia, in view of growing cargo transportation demands. "The bridge, in the bold estimate, will be finished in three years," Gurevich said.
See also
- Amuri, TampereAmuri, TampereAmuri is a district in the city of Tampere, Finland.Starting from the 19th century, Amuri was originally mainly a residence area for the workers of the Finlayson factory. It consisted of blocks of wooden houses built together, which were replaced by low-rise apartment buildings in the 1970s and 1980s...
, a TampereTampereTampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...
district named after battles at river Amur during the Russo-Japanese warRusso-Japanese WarThe Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
. - Amur cork tree
- Amur FalconAmur FalconThe Amur Falcon , formerly Eastern Red-footed Falcon, is a small raptor of the falcon family. It breeds in south-eastern Siberia and Northern China, wintering in Southern Africa...
- Amur LeopardAmur LeopardThe Amur leopard , also known as the Far Eastern leopard, Korean leopard, and Manchurian leopard is one of nine recognised subspecies of leopard. It is a wild feline predator native to the mountainous areas of the Russian Far East. It used to inhabit the forests of Korea and China, but it has...
- Amur Tiger
- Amur HoneysuckleLonicera maackiiLonicera maackii is a species of honeysuckle in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to temperate Asia in northern and western China , Mongolia, Japan , Korea, and southeastern Russia .It is listed as an endangered species in Japan...
- Geography of ChinaGeography of ChinaChina stretches some across the East Asian landmass bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam in a changing configuration of broad plains, expansive deserts, and lofty mountain ranges, including vast areas of inhospitable terrain...
- Geography of RussiaGeography of RussiaThe geography of Russia entails the physical and human geography of Russia, a country extending over much of northern Eurasia. Comprising much of eastern Europe and northern Asia, it is the world's largest country in total area. Due to its size, Russia displays both monotony and diversity. As with...
- Sino-Soviet border conflictSino-Soviet border conflictThe Sino–Soviet border conflict was a seven-month military conflict between the Soviet Union and China at the height of the Sino–Soviet split in 1969. The most serious of these border clashes occurred in March 1969 in the vicinity of Zhenbao Island on the Ussuri River, also known as Damanskii...
- Jilin chemical plant explosions 2005
- Home of the KalugaKaluga (fish)The Kaluga is a large predatory sturgeon found in the Amur River basin. Also known as the River Beluga, they are claimed to be the largest freshwater fish in the world, with a maximum size of at least 1,000 kg and 5.6 m . Like the slightly larger Beluga, it spends part of its life in...
(AcipenseriformesAcipenseriformesAcipenseriformes are an order of primitive ray-finned fishes that includes the sturgeons and paddlefishes, as well as some extinct families.Notable characteristics of Acipenseriformes include:* Cartilaginous endoskeleton* Lack of vertebral centrum...
) - List of longest undammed rivers
External links
- Amur-Heilong River Basin Information Center - maps, GIS data, environmental data
- Information and a map of the Amur’s watershed