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Yenisey

For the bandy club Yenisey, see Yenisey Krasnoyarsk Bandy Club. For the super heavy lift launch vehicle, see Yenisei (rocket). For the indigenous people group, see Yeniseian people.

Yenisey
The confluence of the rivers Kaa-Khem and Piy-Khem near Kyzyl
The Yenisey basin, including Lake Baikal
Etymologyfrom either Old Kyrgyz Эне-Сай (Ene-Sai, 'mother river') or Evenki Ионэсси (Ionəssi, 'big water')[1][2]
Native name
Location
CountryMongolia, Russia
RegionTuva, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Khakassia, Irkutsk Oblast, Buryatia, Zabaykalsky Krai
CitiesKyzyl, Shagonar, Sayanogorsk, Abakan, Divnogorsk, Krasnoyarsk, Yeniseysk, Lesosibirsk, Igarka, Dudinka
Physical characteristics
SourceMungaragiyn-Gol
 • locationridge Dod-Taygasyn-Noroo, Mongolia
 • coordinates50°43′46″N 98°39′49″E / 50.72944°N 98.66361°E / 50.72944; 98.66361
 • elevation3,351 m (10,994 ft)
2nd sourceThe most distant source: Yenisey-Angara-Selenga-Ider system
 • locationKhangai Mountains
 • coordinates47°54′47″N 97°57′1″E / 47.91306°N 97.95028°E / 47.91306; 97.95028
 • elevation2,850 m (9,350 ft)
MouthYenisey Gulf
 • location
Arctic Ocean, Russia
 • coordinates
71°50′0″N 82°40′0″E / 71.83333°N 82.66667°E / 71.83333; 82.66667
Length3,487 km (2,167 mi)[3]
Basin size2,554,482 km2 (986,291 sq mi) to 2,580,000 km2 (1,000,000 sq mi)[3]
Width 
 • minimum90 m (300 ft)[3]
 • maximum5,000 m (16,000 ft)[4][3]
Depth 
 • minimum5 m (16 ft)[3]
 • average14 m (46 ft)[4]
 • maximum66 m (217 ft)[4]
Discharge 
 • locationIgarka, Russia (Basin size 2,440,000 km2 (940,000 sq mi);[5] 2,442,735 km2 (943,145 sq mi)[6])
 • average(Period of data: 1971–2015)19,499 m3/s (688,600 cu ft/s)[6]

18,050 m3/s (637,000 cu ft/s)[5]

(Period of data: 1999–2008) 636 km3/a (20,200 m3/s)[7]
 • minimum3,120 m3/s (110,000 cu ft/s)[5]
 • maximum112,000 m3/s (4,000,000 cu ft/s)[5]
Discharge 
 • locationDudinka, Russia (Basin size 2,540,000 km2 (980,000 sq mi))
 • average(Period of data: 1999–2008) 673 km3/a (21,300 m3/s)[7]
Discharge 
 • locationYenisey Gulf (near mouth)
 • average(Period of data: 1984–2018)637 km3/a (20,200 m3/s)

(Period of data: 1940–2017) 588 km3/a (18,600 m3/s)[7]

620 km3/a (20,000 m3/s)[3]
 • minimum2,700 m3/s (95,000 cu ft/s)[4]
 • maximum190,000 m3/s (6,700,000 cu ft/s)[4]
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • rightAngara, Podkamennaya Tunguska, Nizhnyaya Tunguska
Map

The Yenisey[8] (/ˌjɛnɪˈseɪ/ YEN-iss-AY; Russian: Енисе́й, pronounced [jɪnʲɪˈsʲej])[a] is the fifth-longest river system in the world, and the largest to drain into the Arctic Ocean.

Rising in Mungaragiyn-gol in Mongolia, it follows a northerly course through Lake Baikal and the Krasnoyarsk Dam before draining into the Yenisey Gulf in the Kara Sea. The Yenisey divides the Western Siberian Plain in the west from the Central Siberian Plateau to the east; it drains a large part of central Siberia. Its delta is formed between the Gyda Peninsula and the Taymyr Peninsula.

It is the central one of three large Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean (the other two being the Ob and the Lena). The maximum depth of the Yenisey is 61 metres (200 ft) and the average depth is 14 metres (45 ft).

Geography

[edit]
Map including the Yenisey River

The Yenisey proper, from the confluence of its source rivers the Great Yenisey and Little Yenisey at Kyzyl to its mouth in the Kara Sea, is 3,487 km (2,167 mi) long. From the source of its tributary the Selenga, it is 5,075 km (3,153 mi) long.[10] It has a drainage basin of 2,580,000 km2 (1,000,000 sq mi).[11] The Yenisey flows through the Russian federal subjects Tuva, Khakassia[citation needed] and Krasnoyarsk Krai. The city of Krasnoyarsk is situated far upstream on the Yenisey,[8] and the industrial city of Norilsk is nearby on the Arctic Ocean's Taymyr Peninsula.

Tributaries

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The largest tributaries of the Yenisey are, from source to mouth:[11][12]

Lake Baikal

[edit]
Main article: Lake Baikal

A significant feature of the Upper Yenisei is Lake Baikal, the deepest and oldest lake in the world.[13]

Brekhovskie Islands

[edit]

The Brekhovskie Islands (Russian-language article: Бреховские острова) lie in the Yenisey estuary and have an area of some 1,400,000 hectares. They provide a wetland habitat for rare and endangered birds and are an internationally important nesting and breeding area for several types of waterfowl.[14] The most north-easterly of the islands, Nosonovskij Ostrov ("Nose Island") was visited by Fridtjof Nansen in 1913.[15]

Flora and fauna

[edit]

The Yenisey basin (excluding Lake Baikal and lakes of the Khantayka headwaters) is home to 55 native fish species, including two endemics: Gobio sibiricus (a gobionine cyprinid) and Thymallus nigrescens (a grayling).[16] The grayling is restricted to Khövsgöl Nuur and its tributaries.[16] Most fish found in the Yenisey basin are relatively widespread Euro-Siberian or Siberian species, such as northern pike (Esox lucius), common roach (Rutilus rutilus), common dace (Leuciscus leuciscus), Siberian sculpin (Cottus poecilopus), European perch (Perca fluviatilis) and Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio). The basin is also home to many salmonids (trout, whitefish, charr, graylings, taimen and relatives) and the Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii).[16]

The Yenisey valley is habitat for numerous flora and fauna, with Siberian pine and Siberian larch being notable tree species. In prehistoric times Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris, was abundant in the Yenisey valley c. 6000 BC.[17] There are also numerous bird species present in the watershed, including, for example, the hooded crow, Corvus cornix.[18]

Taimyr reindeer herd

[edit]

The Taimyr herd of tundra reindeer (Rangifer tarandus sibiricus), the largest reindeer herd in the world,[19][20] migrates to winter grazing ranges along the Yenisey.[21]: 336  It had an estimated 800,000-850,000 individuals as of 2010, but has peaked at over one million.[22]

[edit]
The Jenissej river gulf

River steamers first came to the Yenisei River in 1864 and were brought in from the Netherlands and the United Kingdom across the icy Kara Sea. One was the steamer Nikolai. The steamship Thames attempted to explore the river, overwintered in 1876, but was damaged in the ice and eventually wrecked in the river. Success came with the steamers Frazer, Express in 1878 and, the next year, Moscow hauling supplies in and wheat out. The Dalman reached Yeniseisk in 1881.

Imperial Russia placed river steamers on the massive river in an attempt to free up communication with land-locked Siberia. One, St. Nicholas took the future Tsar Nicholas II on his voyage to Siberia, and later conveyed Vladimir Lenin to prison.

Engineers attempted to place river steamers in regular service on the river during the building of the Trans-Siberian Railway. The boats were needed to bring in the rails, engines and supplies. Captain Joseph Wiggins sailed the Orestes with rail in 1893. However, the sea and river route proved very difficult with several ships lost at sea and on the river. Both the Ob and Yenisey mouths feed into very long inlets, several hundred kilometres in length, which are shallow, ice bound and prone to high winds and thus treacherous for navigation. After the completion of the railway, river traffic reduced to only local service as the Arctic route and long river proved much too indirect a route.

The first recreation team to navigate the Yenisey's entire length, including its violent upper tributary in Mongolia, was an Australian-Canadian expedition completed in September 2001. Ben Kozel, Tim Cope, Colin Angus and Remy Quinter were on this team. Both Kozel and Angus wrote books detailing this expedition,[23] and a documentary was produced for National Geographic Television.

A canal inclined plane was built on the river in 1985 at the Krasnoyarsk Dam.[24]

History

[edit]

Nomadic tribes such as the Ket people and the Yugh people have lived along the banks of the Yenisey since ancient times, and this region is the location of the Yeniseian language family. The Ket, numbering about 1000, are the only survivors today of those who originally lived throughout central southern Siberia near the river banks. Their extinct relatives included the Kotts, Assans, Arins, Baikots and Pumpokols who lived further upriver to the south. The modern Ket lived in the eastern middle areas of the river before being assimilated politically into Russia during the 17th through 19th centuries.[25]

Some of the earliest known evidence of Turkic origins was found in the Yenisey Valley in the form of stelae, stone monoliths and memorial tablets dating from between the seventh and ninth centuries AD, along with some documents that were found in China's Xinjiang region. The written evidence gathered from these sources tells of battles fought between the Turks and the Chinese and other legends. There are also examples of Uyghur poetry, though most have survived only in Chinese translation.[26]

The schooner MV Iermak and the MV Embryo on their ill-fated 1862 voyage of exploration to the gulf of the Yenissei under Krusenstern

Wheat from the Yenisey was sold by Muslims and Uighurs during inadequate harvests to Bukhara and Soghd during the Tahirid era.[27]

Russians first reached the upper Yenisey in 1605, travelling from the Ob, up the Ket, portaging and then down the Yenisey as far as the Sym.[28]

In 1862 Paul Theodor von Krusenstern attempted to navigate with two ships from Murmansk through the Kara Sea to the delta of the river Yenissei, but unfortunately was shipwrecked before obtaining success.[29]

During World War II, Nazi Germany and the Japanese Empire agreed to divide Asia along a line that followed the Yenisey to the border of China and then along the border of China and the Soviet Union.[30]

Etymology

[edit]
The river flowing through the Shushensky Forest
Inclined plane at Krasnoyarsk Dam

The first written mention of the Yenisei River dates back to the 7th century in Tang Dynasty China, at the time of contact with Yenisei Kyrgyz of this region. The word Jian shui (劔水, "Jian River")[31][32] appears in Book of Zhou, vol. 50, and History of the Northern Dynasties, vol. 99, while Jian he (劍河, "Jian River")[33] appears in New Book of Tang, vol. 217. In addition, Qian he (謙河, "Qian River")[34] is found in the 14th-century History of Yuan, vol. 63. These contacts were made by the Chinese as they approached the upper Yenisei River from the south. The characters jian "劔" (or jian "劍") and qian "謙" have been compared to Käm in Orkhon inscriptions[35] from the 8th century. The term Kem كيم is also found in the 13th‒14th-century Oirat Biography in Jami' al-Tawarikh.[36] Furthermore, even in the 18th century, Chinese maps show ᡴᡝ᠊ᠮ᠊ᠠ
ᠪᡳ᠊ᡵᠠ Kem bira “Kem River” (the Kangxi Imperial Atlas of China (康煕皇輿全覧図) in 1717), ᡴᡝ᠊ᠮ᠊ᠠ
ᡳ
ᠪᠣ᠊ᠮ Kem-i bom “Cliffs of the Kem River” (the Yongzheng Atlas (雍正十排図) in 1727 or 1728), 伊克穆必拉 (yeke Kem bira) “Great Kem River” (the Ch'ien-lung Atlas (乾隆内府輿図) in 1769). [37]

The etymology of Käm is not believed to be of Turkic origin,[38] and although a Samoyed derivation has been proposed,[39] its precise origins remain unclear.

Today, the word survives only in Sayan Turkic languages: in Tuvan as xem хем, meaning "river",[40] and in its sister language, Tofa, as hem hем, also meaning "river".[41] These languages are considered to have had close contact with those mentioned above in ancient times.[42][43] Additionally, there are just over 50 river names containing the suffix -kem -кем in the Altai Republic,[44] and the term Kim (Ким) as in Kim suγ (Ким суғ), meaning "Yenisei River" barely exists in Khakas.[45] All of these instances are confined to the region in and around the present-day Republic of Tuva.

Meanwhile, in the 17th century, Russians reached the lower part of the Yenisei River from the northwest; along the way, by 1600, the Tobolsk Cossacks built Fort Mangazeya by the Taz River. It is believed that the name of the Yenisei River was transmitted, either directly or indirectly, from Samoyed-speaking peoples in the region with whom the Russians had contact. This contact eventually led to the adoption of the name "Yenisei", with a Russian accent.[46]

Additionally, by the end of the 16th century, the Yenisei River was already known to Dutch navigators, who referred to it as "Gilissi", "Gelissi", or "Geniscea", among other names. Although the exact spelling varied, these are phonetically similar to "Yenisei".[47] In particular, the modern Dutch pronunciation of "Geniscea" as [xɛnisə] is quite close to "Yenisei". The term "Yenisei" (Енисей) appeared in Russian literature slightly later, around 1600, in the form that is still used today.[48] Unlike in Dutch, the Russian spelling has been relatively stable since the 17th century, with only minor variations such as "Yeniseya" (Енисея) or "Yenisya" (Енися).[49]

The etymology of "Yenisei" remains unclear.

Renowned linguist Max Vasmer, for instance, has suggested that the Nganasan word "Jentajea", the Enets "Jeddosi", and the Selkup "N'andesi", all meaning "Yenisei River", might correspond to unidentified Samoyed languages,[50] probably quoted Matthias Castrén's vocabulary.[51] V. K. Nikonov has proposed that the word could derive from "iondessi" (иондесси), meaning "big river" in Selkup, Khanty, or even Evenki.[52] More recently, some have speculated that "Yenisei" is a compound word of unconfirmed Old Kyrgyz (or inspired by Tuvan language?) ene (эне), meaning "great-grandmother; nanny" + say (сай), meaning "gravel; ford".[53]

However, the above considerations, except Vasmer's, remain speculative false etymologies, as they do not refer to the dictionaries of the respective languages.[54] Researchers are encouraged to conduct more detailed studies based on proper contemporary linguistic sources and historical documents.[55]

Pollution

[edit]

Studies have shown that the Yenisey suffers from contamination caused by radioactive discharges from a factory that produced bomb-grade plutonium in the secret city of Krasnoyarsk-26, now known as Zheleznogorsk.[56]

[edit]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Also romanised as Yenisei or Jenisej;[9] Mongolian: Горлог мөрөн, romanized: Gorlog mörön, pronounced [ˈɢɔrɮɔɢ ˈmɵrɵŋ]; Buryat: Горлог мүрэн, romanized: Gorlog müren; Tuvan: Улуг-Хем, romanized: Ulug-Hem; Khakas: Ким суғ, romanized: Kim suğ.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Прокофьев, Александр Андреевич (30 August 1990). Избранное : стихотворения, поэмы. "Худож. лит-ра", Ленинградское отд-ние. ISBN 9785280009615 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Мирнова, Светлана (5 September 2017). Реки, моря и океаны. Вся вода на Земле. Litres. ISBN 9785457593909 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Yenisey River".
  4. ^ a b c d e "The Yenisei River".
  5. ^ a b c d "Station: Igarka". Yenisei Basin. UNH / GRDC. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  6. ^ a b Stadnyk, Tricia A.; Tefs, A.; Broesky, M.; Déry, S. J.; Myers, P. G.; Ridenour, N. A.; Koenig, K.; Vonderbank, L.; Gustafsson, D. (2021). "Changing freshwater contributions to the Arctic". Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. 9 (1): 00098. Bibcode:2021EleSA...9...98S. doi:10.1525/elementa.2020.00098. S2CID 236682638.
  7. ^ a b c "River Discharge".
  8. ^ a b Alan Taylor (23 August 2013). "A Year on the Yenisei River". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  9. ^ "Yenisei River". Hammond Quick & Easy Notebook Reference Atlas & Webster Dictionary. Hammond. April 2006. p. 31. ISBN 0843709227.
  10. ^ Енисей, Great Soviet Encyclopedia
  11. ^ a b "Река Енисей in the State Water Register of Russia". verum.wiki (in Russian).
  12. ^ C Michael Hogan (13 May 2012). "Yenisei River". Encyclopedia of Earth. Archived from the original on 17 May 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  13. ^ Nick C. Davidson (2018). "Yenisei River Basin and Lake Baikal (Russia)". The Wetland Book. Springer. pp. 1477–1484. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-4001-3_276. ISBN 978-94-007-4000-6. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
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  18. ^ C. Michael Hogan. 2009. Hooded Crow: Corvus cornix, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed, N. Stromberg Archived 26 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine
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  23. ^ Five Months in a Leaky Boat: A River Journey Through Siberia, Kozel, 2003, Pan Macmillan
  24. ^ Permanent International Association of Navigation Congresses. (1989). Ship lifts: report of a Study Commission within the framework of Permanent . PIANC. ISBN 978-2-87223-006-8. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
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  26. ^ Halman, Talah. A Millenium of Turkish Literature. p. 6.
  27. ^ Ian Blanchard (2001). Mining, Metallurgy and Minting in the Middle Ages: Asiatic supremacy, 425-1125. Franz Steiner Verlag. pp. 271–272. ISBN 978-3-515-07958-7. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  28. ^ Fisher, Raymond Henry (1943). The Russian Fur Trade, 1550-1700. University of California Press.
  29. ^ Naufrage du lieutenant Krusenstern dans les glaces de la mer de Kara (1863, in Le Tour du monde Volume 8 pp.203-208)
  30. ^ Weinberg, Gerhard L. Visions of Victory: The Hopes of Eight World War II Leaders Cambridge, England, United Kingdom:2005--Cambridge University Press [1] Archived 17 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  31. ^ 令狐徳棻等撰『周書』1971 中華書局; 908.
  32. ^ 李延壽撰『北史』1974 中華書局; 3286.
  33. ^ 宋濂撰『新唐書』1975中華書局; 6148.
  34. ^ 宋濂撰『元史』1976中華書局; 1574.
  35. ^ Thomsen V. 1896 Inscriptions de l'Orkhon. la Société de Littérature Finnoise, Helsingfors.: 100, 123, 140.
  36. ^ Хетагуров Л. А., Семенов А. А. 1952 Рашид-Ад-Дин Сборник летописей. Том 1-1 // Ленинград : Издательство Академии Наук СССР с. 118.
  37. ^ 汪前進(2007)：〈康熙、雍正、乾隆三朝全國總圖的繪製〉（代序），《清廷三大實測全圖集》，外文出版社.
  38. ^ Hambis L. 1956 "Notes sur Käm, nom de l'Yenissei supérieur". Journal Asiatique, vol. 244, 281‒300.
  39. ^ Vásáry I. 1971 "Käm, an Early Samoyed Name of Yenisey", L. Legeti (ed.) Studia Turcica, Budapest: Akademiai Kiado, 469‒482.
  40. ^ Тенишев Э.Р., Тувинско-русский словарь: около 22 000 слов // Москва : Советская энциклопедия. 1968. с. 473.
  41. ^ Рассадин В. И., Словарь тофаларско-русский и русско-тофаларский // Санкт-Петербург : Дрофа. 2005. с. 55.
  42. ^ Hambis 1956, 282.
  43. ^ Vásáry 1971, 475.
  44. ^ Молчанова О. Т., Топонимический словарь Горного Алтая // Горно-Алтайское отделение Алтайского книжного издательства. 1979. С. 55—62.
  45. ^ Чанков Д. И., Русско-хакасский словарь: 31000 слов // Государственное издательство иностранных и национальных словарей. 1961. с. 960.
  46. ^ Müller G. F. 1778 Sammlung rußischer Geschichte des Herrn Collegienraths Müllers in Moscow; S. 517‒518.
  47. ^ Бурыкин А. А. 2011 Енисей и Ангара. К истории и этимологии названий гидронимов и изучению перспектив формирования географических представлений о бассейнах рек Южной Сибири // Новые исследования Тувы. 2011, № 2—3. с. 286.
  48. ^ Бурыкин 2011, с. 282.
  49. ^ Русско-китайские отношения в XVII веке. Том 1 1608—1683 // Наука. 1969. с. 594.
  50. ^ Vasmer M. J. Этимологический словарь русского языка. Том 1 (А—Д) // М. Прогресс. 1964 [1950—1958]. с. 20.
  51. ^ Castrén, M. 1855 Wörterverzeichnisse aus den samojedischen Sprachen. S. 52, 83, 141, 238.
  52. ^ Никонов В. К., Краткий топонимический словарь. // М. Мысль 1966. с. 136.
  53. ^ [[2]].
  54. ^ Бурыкин 2011 С. 280—281.
  55. ^ Бурыкин 2011 С. 279—304.
  56. ^ David Hoffman (17 August 1998). "Wastes of War: Radioactivity Threatens a Mighty River". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yenisei River.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Yenisei".