Springs, holy mineral springs, thermal baths of Russia. Selenga

The river originates on the northeastern slopes of the Khangai mountain range in northern Mongolia, where it is formed by the confluence of the Ider-Gol and Delger-Muren rivers. (In geographical literature it is often customary to count the beginning of the river from the source of Ider-Gol.)

From its birthplace, the Selenga (in Mongolian Selenge) flows meanderingly in a northeast direction until the Orkhon River flows into it on the right. Along the way, it receives on the left the remarkable tributary Egiin Gol, which originates from “ younger brother Baikal" - Lake Khubsugul, originating from the Baikal Rift, thereby connecting these two deepest lakes for Russia and Mongolia into a single water system. In a straight line, there are only 200 km between the lakes, and about 1200 along the river system.

In the middle reaches of the Selenga flows within the steppe and forest-steppe zones Selenga midlands.

The Selenga Valley along its entire length is characterized by alternating narrowings up to 1-2 km wide and basin-like expansions up to 20-25 km wide. Here it is divided into channels in many places; there are many rifts, branches and islands in the river. It is interesting that some sections can take on a calm, flat character even in the upper reaches, but in the lower reaches the river can unexpectedly become narrow and stormy.

After the Orkhon tributary, taking a northern direction, the river crosses the border of Mongolia and Russia and continues its flow through Buryatia. The bottom of the channel in this area is sandy, the river flows between meadow banks along the steppe landscape along the spurs of the Khamar-Daban ridge.

But the further downstream, the steeper its banks become, and the river is surrounded by cliffs. Here, “propped up” from the south by the Tsagan-Daban ridge, the river takes a northern direction and rushes into the gorge between the Khamar-Daban and Ulan-Burgasy ridges. In the place where three mountain ranges converge, called the Ivolgino-Uda intermountain depression, on a river bend on both banks, the capital of Buryatia, Ulan-Ude, is located.

Then, turning 90°, the river leaves the mountains and spills over the Kudarinskaya steppe, which comes to the shore of Lake Baikal.

Having replaced in last time the direction is to the north-west, the Selenga flows through several channels into its south-eastern side, between the Proval and Prorva bays. When it flows into Baikal, the river forms a vast delta protruding into the lake for 20 km, overgrown with reeds and reeds. Both the bays and the Kudarinskaya steppe are the result of the “labor” of the Selenga. Over hundreds of thousands of years, a layer of loose sediments has accumulated, carried by the river onto the steep slope of the Baikal rift. In the area of ​​the mouth, alluvium formed a wide coastal strip, not typical of Baikal, low alluvial islands, separated by numerous channels and oxbow lakes, periodically flooded. However, the delta area was larger before the construction of the Irkutsk hydroelectric power station, which caused an increase in the water level in Lake Baikal by more than one meter and flooding of 500 km 2 of the lake coast.

The Selenga Delta is an active section of the Sayano-Baikap seismic zone. The last major earthquake was the Tsagan earthquake in 1862 with a magnitude of 10 points.

Winter in the Selenga region is characterized by low air temperatures, dropping to -40°C.

The river is most abundant in June and July, least in March. Spring floods on the Selenga are low, summer-autumn floods are high after heavy rains. In rare spring flood When the river level rises at a speed of up to 20 cm/h, catastrophic floods occur, as in 1973 and 1993, when the entire left bank part of Ulan-Ude was flooded within 24 hours due to heavy rains.

The Selenga is the largest tributary of Baikal, accounting for approximately half of the river waters entering the lake - up to 29 km 3 per year. The Selenga Delta is part of the Central Protected Zone of Baikal, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The delta is an important stop on the routes of migrating birds. It is therefore subject to the provisions of the 1971 Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and Certain Waterfowl. The delta is home to 298 species of nesting and migrating birds, 70 of which are protected and listed in the Red Book. Among the rarest in the delta are black and white-naped cranes, white-tailed eagle, peregrine falcon, and Asian godwit. In the east of the delta, the Kabansky federal ornithological reserve was created - a branch of the Baikal Nature Reserve.

The sources of the Selenga - the largest tributary Russian lake Baikal - located on the territory of Mongolia. 4/5 of the Baikal catchment area falls on the Selenga basin.

Along the entire length of the Selenga there is only one city - the capital of Buryatia, Ulan-Ude. From a historical perspective, Selenga was at the center of many cultures and states.

Story

The origin of the river's name is controversial. It is known that in the Orkhon writings of the VI-VIII centuries. she is called Selena. Chinese chronicles, which contain information about the Uighurs, in the 9th-12th centuries. inhabited the upper reaches of the river, they call it Solin. In medieval Mongolian chronicles“Secret Legend” and “Altan Tobchi” the river is called Selengke or Selengge. In the 17th century on Russian maps, in particular on the famous “Drawing of the Siberian Land” by Peter Godunov in 1667, it is already definitively fixed as Selenga.

Along the banks of the river and its tributaries, especially in Russia, many sites from the Stone Age, up to the Paleolithic, have been found, Neolithic settlements, burial grounds and burial mounds of the Bronze Age have been explored, pronounced archaeological cultures of the 2-1st millennium BC have been identified, Many drawings were found on the rocks and in the caves - carved on the walls or made with ocher. Most of the petroglyphs date back to the Bronze Age. By the nature of the drawings - images of goats, deer, camels, wild boars, fish and hunting scenes - one can draw a conclusion about the occupations of the people. There are images of celestial bodies, this suggests that people knew how to navigate by the stars.

In the upper reaches there are archaeological sites from the 6th century. period of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate - a colossal medieval state. In the Selenga basin, also on the territory of present-day Mongolia, subsequently, in the 8th-9th centuries, there was its successor - the state of the Uyghur Kaganate, among the monuments of this period - the capital of the Kaganate - Khara-Balgas on the river. Orkhon.

In 2004, the Mongolian territory of Selenga, including the Karakoram, Khara-Balgas, Turkic monuments and other sites along the banks of the Orkhon River, was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as the “Cultural Landscape of the Orkhon River Valley”.

After the signing of the Treaty of Burin in 1727 on the delimitation of the border between Russia and China, settlements of Cossacks appeared along the banks of the river, moving to Siberia to guard the border. In 1851, by order of Emperor Nicholas I, the Transbaikal region was created Cossack army, which existed until the proclamation of Soviet power in these places in 1920.

In the XVIII-XIX centuries. It was along the Selenga that a section of the Siberian Highway passed to the borders of China. At that time, Selenga became a natural route for the transit of Chinese goods and was navigable from the border to Lake Baikal.

In the early 1980s. In the USSR, navigation on the Selenga was stopped at the request of environmentalists. The river is navigable only in the Mongolian section. Therefore, it turned out that the large Ulan-Ude, which has a river port and a shipbuilding plant, does not have its own shipping.

The Selenga delta region is favorable for conducting Agriculture, but the delta itself is not populated, and adjacent areas are used for crops.

In the river valley, brown coal is mined from the Gusinoozersk deposit. Resorts have been created at mineral springs in the lower reaches. Most of the industrial enterprises and agricultural production of Buryatia, which require huge amounts of water, are concentrated in the Selenga basin. In 1973, at the mouth of the Selenga, the powerful Selenga pulp and cardboard plant was built, which only stopped discharging industrial wastewater into the Selenga in 1990.

The Selenga delta with its vegetation and sediments is a kind of natural filter for river waters before they enter Baikal. The water of the Selenga, previously distinguished by its purity and transparency, is increasingly polluted by industrial and domestic wastewater from the capital of Buryatia.

general information

Location: central Asia, on the territory of Mongolia and Russia (Buryatia).
Settlements : Ulan-Ude - 430,549 people. (2016), the city of Sukhbaatar (at the mouth of the Orkhon) - 19,224 (2007), the villages of Selenginsk - 13,793 people. (2016), Kabansk - 6038 people. (2010), Naushki - 2973 people. (2016).
Source: confluence of the Ider-Gol and Delger-Muren rivers (Mongolia).
Estuary: flows into Lake Baikal (Russia).
Tributaries: right - Orkhon, Nikoy, Khilok and Uda, left - Egiin-Gol, Dzhida and Temnik.
Nutrition: mixed, with a predominance of rain.
Freeze-up: November - April.
Languages: Russian, Mongolian, Buryat, Kazakh, Chinese.
Ethnic composition : Russians, Khalka-Mongols, Buryats, Kazakhs, Chinese.
Religions: Buddhism, Orthodoxy, Taoism, Islam.
Currency unit : Mongolian tugrik, Russian ruble.

Numbers

Length: 1024 km - from the confluence of Ider-Gol and Delger-Muren (615 km - Mongolia, 409 km - Russia), 1476 km - including the river. Ider-Gol; 5238 km - river system Ider - Selenga - Angara - Yenisei.
Pool: 447,060 km 2 (281,000 km 2 (63%) - Mongolia, 166,060 km 2 (37%) - Russia).
Source height: 1176 m (confluence of Ider-Gol and Delger-Muren).
Mouth height: 455.5 m.
Slope: 0.7 m/km.
Depth: in the middle reaches - 4-7 m, in the delta - up to 3 m.
Average consumption water : 310 m 3 /s (Russian-Mongolian border), 935 m 3 /s (127 km from the mouth).
Number of tributaries : 90 (longer than 10 km).
Lakes in the catchment : 5549.
Delta: area - 680 km 2.
Solid drain: 3.6 million tons/year.

Climate and weather

Sharply continental arid temperate zone, harsh winter, warm summer.
Average air temperature in January : from -20 to -25°C.
Average air temperature in July : from +17 to +20°С.
Average annual precipitation : 250 mm on the plain, 400 mm in mountain valleys.
Average annual relative humidity : 60%.

Economy

Minerals : brown coal, mineral springs.
Thermal power engineering : Gusinoozerskaya State District Power Plant (Russia).
Services sector: tourism, transport, trade, financial.

Attractions

Natural

Selenga Delta, Long Karga Islands, Kabansky Federal Ornithological Reserve (branch of the Baikal biosphere reserve, Russia, 1967), lakes Terkhiin-Tsagan-Nur, Ugii-Nur (Mongolia), Gusinoe and Ubukugskie (Russia), Snezhinsky, Tagleysky, Atsulsky and Borgoysky nature reserves, Subutui pillars, extinct volcano Uran-Dushe, healing springs ( valleys of the Mulistui and Subutui rivers), the Sarbaduy tract and cave, the Zhargalantui pad, the Temnikovskaya cave natural monument.

Cult

Buddhist monastic complexes Gusinoozersky datsan “Dashi Gandan Darzhaling” (Russia, 1741), Sartul-Gegetuisky datsan “Braybuling Dam” (Russia, 1804), Ivolginsky datsan (Russia, 1945); Church of the Holy Epiphany (Ilyinka, Russia, 1803-1806).

Historical

Paleolithic site Khereksurin Uri (Russia), Xiongnu burial grounds Dyrestuisky Kultuk and Orgoyton (Russia), Bronze Age burial grounds Goly-Ochi and Bain-Under (Russia, 2nd-1st millennium BC), Bronze Age petroglyphs (Mount Baga -Zarya and Temnikovskaya Cave, Russia, 2nd-1st millennium BC), Ivolginskoe settlement (Russia, 1st century BC - 1st century AD), Iron Age fortified settlement Bayan -Under (Russia), complex of the Uyghur Khagan Moyan-chur (Mongolia, 747-759), ancient capital of the Uyghur Khaganate Khara-Balgas (Mongolia, VIII-IX centuries), capital Mongol Empire Karakorum (Mongolia, 1220-1260).

City of Ulan-Ude (Russia)

Holy Hodegetrievsky Cathedral (1741-1785), Church of the Ascension ( late XVIII century), datsan “Khambyn-Khure” (1994), Ethnographic Museum of the Peoples of Transbaikalia, Museum of Nature of Buryatia, Museum of the History of Buryatia.

Village Novoselenginsk (Russia)

Decembrist Memorial (monument and graves), Selenginsky fort (1665), ruins of the Cathedral of the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands (1789), Englishwoman Rock (location of the spiritual mission of the London Missionary Society in Transbaikalia, 1818-1840), Ubiennyy Pass and Mt. Murdered.

Curious facts

In the Gusinoozersk datsan, a rather rare deer stone for the territory of Russia was discovered and located - Altan-Serge, or “Golden Hitting Post”. It is a massive hewn stone slab with an embossed symbolic design of deer. Refers to the late Bronze and early Iron Ages. Reindeer stones of Transbaikalia were used in the fences of ancient burials, the so-called. “tile graves”, in places of sacred rites.

In 1731, during the next Dzungar invasion of Outer Mongolia, a large battle took place between them and the troops of the Qing Empire not far from the Selenga, on the banks of its tributary Orkhon, near the Erdene-Dzu datsan. There is a legend that when the Dzungars entered the temple, the statue of the patron deity drove them out, and at the same time the stone lions roared at the entrance. The Dzungars fled to Orkhon and drowned in the crush. The Qing Emperor Yongzheng learned about the legend and rewarded the river for its help by allocating 10 kg of silver for the maintenance of the river, ordering it to be dumped into the water annually.

Selenga is called cold Eastern wind on Lake Baikal, blowing from the Selenga River. The wind is stronger in autumn, with an increase in the temperature difference between land and lake.

Locals call omul fish selenga.

Number

18

Compiled by

V.V. Baskakov (Baikal Nature Reserve. 671120 Buryatia, Kabansky district, Tankhoi village, Krasnogvardeyskaya str., 36, apt. 2.). V. G. Vinogradov (CIMZh “Scaup”. Moscow 117292, PO Box 165).

Site name

Delta of the Selenga River (Kabansky State Nature Reserve).

Geographical coordinates

52°12’-52°22’N, 106°15’-106°29’E

Geographical location of the site

Republic of Buryatia, Kabansky district. The site is located in the central part of the Selenga River delta. Its southern border is located 35 km from the village. Kabansk. The eastern border of the reserve runs from Kondakovsky Island along the Selenga River (Lobanovskaya channel), the Severnaya, Kolpinka, Kolpinaya channels to its confluence with Lake Baikal; southern - from the Selenga River along the Srednye Estuary channel to its confluence with the Proma channel; western - along the Srednye Estuary channel until it flows into Lake Baikal; northern - along the waters of Lake Baikal.

Land area

12,100 hectares (to be specified).

Height

456-458 m above sea level.

Wetland type

According to the Ramsar classification - L.
By Russian classification — 2.5.1.5.

Criteria for inclusion in the list

1d, 2a, 3a. Main - 1d - a unique site that supports the existence of many rare and endemic species and significant number waterfowl.

Brief description of the site

Delta largest river, flowing into Lake Baikal. Coastal shallow waters of Lake Baikal, shallow lakes and sors, meadow-swamp herbaceous communities, shrubs and meadows along channels and oxbow lakes. A place of mass gatherings of waterfowl during the breeding, molting and seasonal migration periods.

Physiographic characteristics

The Selenga delta lies on a thick cover of Pleistocene and later alluvium. Currently, after the construction of the Irkutsk hydroelectric power station on the Angara, the delta is heavily flooded.

The climate is continental, average temperature July +14.0°C, January −19.4°C. The duration of the growing season is 140-150 days. Up to 315 mm of precipitation falls per year.

The spring flood is very stormy, the water rises at a speed of up to 20 cm/hour. Summer floods after heavy rains are typical.

Environmental conditions

In shallow lakes and sors, the vegetation is represented by communities of floating (duckweed, hornwort, bladderwort) and plants attached to the bottom (pondweed, urutaceae, grasshoppers, arrow-leaved, marsh-flowered, water-lilies).

Periodically flooded areas of the delta are occupied by reed thickets with the participation of horsetail, reeds, cattails and sedge-cereal swampy meadows.

The vegetation of rarely flooded areas of the floodplain consists of thickets of willows and other shrubs in combination with areas of meadows. On a number of islands, continuous thickets are formed by apple berry trees.

Forms of land ownership on the site

Property of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation.

Use of land and water

The main land user on the site is the Baikal Biosphere state reserve, the structure of which includes the Kabansky reserve.

On part of the reserve's territory, amounting to approximately 25% of its total area, livestock grazing occurs, including during the period of laying and incubation of eggs by waterfowl. When the water level is low, livestock penetrate much deeper into the reserve.

In order to regulate the number of muskrats on the territory of the reserve, limited catching of muskrats is carried out, which begins no earlier than September 15 and does not have a noticeable impact. negative impact on waterfowl.

Threats and concerns

The nature of the delta is negatively affected by the unstable hydrological regime and the rise in the level of Lake Baikal as a result of regulation of the river flow. Hangars. The planned increase in the water level in Lake Baikal will lead to increased degradation of the meadow-swamp ecosystems of the delta and destruction of the habitats of waterfowl and shorebirds.

As a result of livestock grazing, the grass on the islands and riverbed ridges is eaten away and trampled almost completely.

Existing security

The Kabansky State Nature Reserve was created in 1974 on an area of ​​18 thousand hectares. The reserve's security staff consists of 7 people (senior game warden and 6 rangers). On its territory, hunting for all types of animals and birds (with the exception of muskrat), hunting of all types of aquatic animals, collection of wild plants, logging, as well as the movement of all types of transport is prohibited.

The site is located within the specially protected area “Lake Baikal with a protected zone”, listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Proposed forms of protection

Conversion state reserve"Kabansky" into the reserve, the inclusion of several islands (in connection with the planned further increase in the level of Lake Baikal), expansion of the area of ​​land with international significance, east to the Severnaya channel; in the south and west of the river. Selenga along the Middle Estuary channel to the Promoy channel, along it to the Galutai channel and further until the Galutai channel flows into Lake Baikal.

Valuable fauna

The Selenga Delta is a place of mass gatherings of waterfowl during the breeding season, molting and seasonal migrations. The nesting density of waterfowl on floods in the lower part of the delta reaches 130 nests per 100 hectares, on interlake caltus lakes - 103 nests, in small channels and intra-island caltus lakes - 24 and 50 nests, respectively (Melnikova, Klimenko, 1979).

According to N.G. Skryabin (1975), the nesting density of ducks on sor, delta lakes and channels is 527 nests per 100 hectares, including 206 nests for diving ducks, 321 for river ducks. On sor islands in colonies of gull birds the number of duck nests reaches 2200 per 100 ha (Melnikov et al., 1984). According to observations in the Kabansky reserve in the summer of 1990, the nesting density of waterfowl was determined to be 250-300 nests per 100 hectares of suitable nesting area.

The total number of lamellar-billed birds nesting in the delta varies from year to year from 20 to 138 thousand, and the number of young birds that have taken wing from 23 to 175 thousand (Skryabin et al., 1991).

In addition to the ducks nesting here, another 8-10 thousand drakes of such species as wigeon, teal, killer whale, and pintail fly to the delta to molt.

During the autumn migration, the number of ducks in the Selenga delta ranges from 384 (1981) to 743 (1985) per 100 hectares of wetlands. During the fall, 7.3-18.3 thousand individuals stop in this area, and in just one season up to 5 million ducks migrate through the delta (Skryabin, Tupitsyn, 1991).

Of the birds listed in the Red Book of Russia, during the migration period in the river delta. Selenga sighted: Siberian crane (Grus leucogeranus), black stork (Ciconia nigra), little swan (Cygnus bewickii), swan (Anser cygnoides), imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca), golden eagle (A.chrysaetus), peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), gyrfalcon ( F.gyrfalco), saker falcon (F.cherrug). The white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) nests - 2-3 pairs on the territory of the reserve and the Asian snipe godwit (Limnodromus semipalmatus), for which the delta is one of the main nesting areas.

In addition to the listed birds nesting here, the Red Book of Buryatia includes the whooper swan, black mallard (5-6 nests per 100 ha), killer whale (4 nests per 100 ha), bittern, crake, rail, corncrake, marsh owl, blue tit.

In addition to birds, the Red Book of Buryatia includes the Baikal sturgeon (Acipenser baeri baicalensis), white Baikal grayling (Thymallus arcticus baicalensis), Mongolian toad (Bufo raddei), which are found here, and sharp-faced frog(Rana terrestris), Ikonnikov's bat (Myotis ikonnikovi), long-eared bat (Plecotus auritus), two-colored bat (Vespertilio murinus) and northern bat (Eptesicus nilssoni).

Valuable flora

Among the plants listed in the Red Book of Buryatia, the apple tree (Malus baccata) and the quadrangular water lily (Nymphaea tetragona) should be noted.

Scientific research and opportunities for it

Many years of ornithological and botanical research were carried out. The delta is accessible, and if it is possible to organize a reserve, it will become a serious base for research.

Control

State Committee of the Republic of Buryatia for Ecology and Environmental Management: 670015, Ulan-Ude, st. Solnechnaya, 21-a. Tel. 3-17-16.

Administration of the Kabansky district of the Republic of Buryatia: 671200, Republic of Buryatia, village. Kabansk, st. Kirova, 10; tel. 9-15-55.

Jurisdiction

Government of the Republic of Buryatia: 670001, Ulan-Ude, Sukhbaatar St., 9. Government House.

State Committee for Ecology of Russia: 123812, Moscow, Bolshaya Gruzinskaya, 4/6.

Literature

Scriabin N.G. Waterfowl of Lake Baikal. Irkutsk, 1975

Bird ecology Eastern Siberia. Irkutsk, 1977

Ecology of birds in the Lake Baikal basin. Irkutsk, 1979

Ecology of vegetation of the Selenga River delta. Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1981.

The Selenga River is the largest tributary of Lake Baikal.

The name of the river “Selenga” comes, according to some sources, from the Evenk “sele” - iron, according to others - from the Buryat “sel”, meaning “space, spill”.

The river originates in the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic from the confluence of the rivers Ider and Muren. The total length of the Selenga is 1024 kilometers, of which 409 kilometers of the lower reaches pass through the territory of Russia (Republic of Buryatia). The drainage basin area is 445 thousand square kilometers.

Water mode The Selenga is characterized by rapid spring floods, when the river level rises at a speed of up to 20 cm/hour; summer floods are mainly observed after heavy rains. The river is most abundant in June-July, least in January-March. Freeze-up lasts from November to April. On average, the Selenga brings about 30 kb/km of water to Baikal per year, which is about half of the total inflow into Lake Baikal. The average annual water flow is 310 kb.m/s near the Russian-Mongolian border and up to 950 kb.m/s at the mouth.

In the first half of the 1930s, it was proposed to build two hydroelectric power stations on the Selenga: one below Verkhneudinsk, the other below the Khilka mouth, and the capacity of the Khilkinskaya hydroelectric power station was estimated to be twice that of the Dnieper hydroelectric power station. In 1934, specialists from the Hydroelectric Project Institute investigated the hydropower potential of the Selenga and its tributaries. As a result, due to the lack of large consumers of electricity, the construction of power plants on Selenga was considered inappropriate.

Almost along its entire course, the Selenga has a predominantly flat character with alternating narrowings (up to 1-2 kilometers) and basin-like expansions of the valley up to 20-25 kilometers, where it is often divided into channels. When it flows into Baikal along a wide swampy lowland, the Selenga forms a vast delta with an area of ​​680 square kilometers.

Together with the water, the Selenga brings half of the total volume of pollution entering the lake to Baikal. The Selenga carries a huge amount of suspended solids to Baikal, on average 3.5 million tons per year. Due to the huge amount of suspended solids, when it flows into Baikal, the Selenga forms a huge delta, declared an object world heritage UNESCO. The Selenga delta is a multi-kilometer thick layer of loose sediments carried by the river onto the steep slope of the Baikal rift. The thickness of precipitation in the Selenga delta is estimated at 5-5.5 kilometers. Externally, the delta looks like a giant meadow swampy plain, divided into islands by numerous channels. The area of ​​the modern delta is about 680 sq. km, and before the construction of the Irkutsk hydroelectric power station the delta area was twice as large. At the same time, the underwater part of the Selenga delta reaches the western shore of Lake Baikal. The Selenga Delta is about 500 thousand years old. The Selenga Delta is one of the most seismically active areas of the Sayano-Baikal zone; earthquakes with a magnitude of up to 10 are probable here.

The delta serves as a haven for 298 species of nesting and migrating birds, 70 of which are listed in the Red Book. This is one of the largest stopping points on the route of migratory birds, therefore the Selenga delta is included in the list of wetlands in Russia that fall under the International Ramsar Convention. Among the most rare species Birds living in the delta include: black and white-naped cranes, white-tailed eagle, peregrine falcon, Asian snipe godwit.

In addition to birds, the Selenga delta is a favorite habitat for many species of fish: mainly perch, roach, ide and pike, which are numerous here. Severe floods of the 90s contributed to the massive spread of rotan, introduced in 1980 from the Amur basin, into the delta. With the onset of autumn, Selenga is visited by the Baikal omul preparing for spawning, which is the main object of fishing in the Baikal region and on the lake itself. At the end of May - beginning of June, as soon as the water temperature in the river reaches 6-8 degrees, taimen rush into the waters of the Selenga to spawn. The river is also home to carp, burbot, Siberian roach, and Baikal sturgeon.

Selenga River originates in Mongolia, its source is the confluence of two rivers Ider-Gol and Delger-Muren. The Selenga is the largest tributary of Lake Baikal.

There are several assumptions about the distant past of this river. According to one of them, in very distant times two rivers Angara and Selenga were a single river bed even before the formation of the Baikal depression. According to another assumption, it is believed that the Selenga was one of the tributaries of the Lena.

Both the origin story and the title lack a single point of view. In the first case, the word “Selenga” comes from the Tungusic “sele”, which means “iron”, and “Selenga” - “iron”. In another case, from the Buryat root “sel” - “spill, lake”. Both the first and second versions fail. In the first case, Selenga has nothing to do with iron. In the second case, the name was given even when such a nation as the Buryats was not formed.

From its source (the confluence with the Ider-Gol River) to its confluence with Lake Baikal, its length is about 870 km. 360 km of the river passes through the territory of Russia. The drainage area of ​​the river basin is about 1.5 million square meters. kilometers. A thousand channels, large and small, flow into the Selenga big rivers You can note Dzhida, Chikoy, Uda, Temnik. In Mongolia, the Selenga drainage basin makes up 55%.

Selenga per year, on average, it brings approximately 30 cubic meters into the waters of Lake Baikal. km. water is almost half of all water that enters the lake. The water flow in the river is distributed unevenly. The high-water river can be seen in June-July, when the snow has melted and rain is pouring heavily. It is less abundant in water from January to March, when there are no additional nutrient arteries. The Selenga not only brings with it tons of water, but also pollutes the waters of Lake Baikal with its appearance. The Selenga is mainly a flat river. It is characterized by alternating valley narrowings and cauldron-shaped expansions. It is characterized by seasonal floods in the summer; it overflows during rains, and in the spring during snowmelt. During this period, when the river level rises, it flows at a speed of up to 20 cm/hour.

Passing across the plains and expanding, Selenga brings to the waters of Lake Baikal a large number of hard suspension (sand, silt, pebbles). During the year, the average amount of sand brought in can be 3,600,000 tons; during a leash, this figure can increase to 7,000,000 tons within one month.

When it flows into Baikal, the river forms a delta (it occurs due to the large accumulation of sand and silt brought in) and is a multi-kilometer loose layer of sediment that was carried onto the steep slope of the Baikal reef. The total area of ​​the river delta is 1,120 square meters. km. The area of ​​the modern delta is two times smaller (520 sq. km.). The construction of the Irkutsk hydroelectric power station contributed to the decrease. The thickness of the precipitation is estimated to be up to 5500 meters. Externally, the delta looks very beautiful, it looks like a giant meadow swampy plain, which is separated by islands and numerous channels. The delta is one of the most active areas of the Sayan-Baikal seismic zone. Earthquakes with an amplitude of up to 10 points are most likely in this area.

Approximate age Selenga delta about 500,000 years. In 1994, by decree of the Russian Government, the delta was included in the list of unique natural phenomena, and is included in the Central Protected Zone of Lake Baikal; 35 wetlands were included in this list, and was also declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

On its beautiful shores, 298 species of birds have found shelter, some of them nesting (permanent), others (migratory), of which 70 species are listed in the Red Book and are protected by the state. On the territory of Russia this is the most major item stopping point for migratory birds, so this place was included in the list of wetlands in Russia. Most rare birds that are found in the delta include the peregrine falcon, Asian snipe godwit, black and white-naped cranes, and white-tailed eagle.

Selenga Delta This is a kind of living natural filter; it undertakes to be the first to purify industrial wastewater. This is how someone makes the waters of Lake Baikal cleaner. Although the Selenga delta is located close to Lake Baikal, it is not recommended to swim or drink water from it.

FISHING IN MONGOLIA

FISHING PLACES OF MONGOLIA

SELENGA RIVER

Selenga- a river in Mongolia and Russia (Buryatia), formed by the confluence of the Ider and Muren rivers, flows into Lake Baikal, forming a delta with an area of ​​680 sq. km (Selenga accounts for approximately half of the river waters entering the lake). There are different versions of the origin of the name of the Selenga River: from the Buryat root “sel”, which translated means “spill, lake”; from the Tunguska “sele” or “sele”, which is like “iron”, and selenga - “iron”.

Length Selenga River from the source of the river Ider 1024 km (including 409 km of the lower reaches in Russia). The total area of ​​the Selenga basin is 447,060 km2, of which 281,000 km2 (63%) is located in Mongolia and 166,060 km2 (37%) within the Russian Federation.

The Selenga is the main tributary of the lake. Baikal and southern part basin of this lake. On the territory of Mongolia, 2/3 of the Selenga drainage basin area is located, and the water flow is formed on average 14.0-15.0 km3 per year, constituting about 45-50% of the total Selenga flow flowing into Baikal.

Drainage area of ​​the basin Selenga has a well-developed hydrographic network. The source of the Selenga is considered to be the river Ider-Gol. On the territory of Mongolia, Selenga has a number of major tributaries- Orkhon, Egiin-Gol, Delger-Muren, Chuluut-Gol, associated with the Khangai and Khubsugul highlands, and the Tola, Eroo, Kharaa-Gol rivers, originating in the Khentei highlands.
In the Selenga basin there are large lakes: Terkhiin-Tsagan-Nur, connected to the river. Chuluut and having an area of ​​61 km², and Ugii-Nur with an area of ​​25 km², located in the steppe zone of the river valley. Orkhon.

The Selenga has a predominantly flat appearance with alternating narrowings (up to 1-2 km) and basin-like expansions of the valley up to 20-25 km, where it is often divided into channels. The water regime is characterized by low spring floods, rain floods in summer and autumn, and winter low water. The average water flow near the border of Mongolia and Russia is 310 m³/sec, 127 km from the mouth - 935 m³/sec. Freeze-up from November to April. Regular shipping to Sukhbaatar.

The cities of Sukhbaatar (Mongolia), Ulan-Ude and the urban-type settlement of Selenginsk are located on the Selenga.

Data on fishes of the Selenga basin obtained by Mongolian and Soviet researchers in the 1970s - 1980s are summarized in two collective monographs “Fishes of Mongolia” (1983) and “Ecology and economic importance fish of the MPR” (1985). It should be noted that these studies did not consider small floodplain lakes and many tributaries of the basin. From these works it follows that 19 species of fish live in the Selenga basin within Mongolia.

The ichthyofauna of the upper reaches of the Selenga tributaries (Khoid-Tamir-Gol, Bugsein-Gol, Ider-Gol, Delger-Muren-Gol, Tula-Gol, Eroo) was represented exclusively by species of the Siberian rheophilic complex. Its composition was dominated by char, Siberian grayling, lenok, taimen and common minnow. In the middle reaches of the main channel of the Selenga and in the middle reaches of the Orkhon, dace is among the dominant species, along with spined loach, char, grayling and lenok. Minnow and taimen act as subdominants. Species composition fish river Tula-Gol and the lower reaches of the Orkhon River were noticeably different from other studied rivers and areas. First of all, representatives of salmonids completely disappear in it; the undoubted dominants are dace and crucian carp. The subdominants are spined loach, loach and pike. We identified a similar situation in the lower reaches of the Eroo-Gol River. Moreover, even char was absent in the latter, and up to 90% of the ichthyofauna was represented by dace. The lower station on the Orkhon River was located after the confluence of the Orkhon River. Khangal, flowing through the industrial region of Erdenet, where mining is carried out, and the upper and middle reaches of the river. Eroo are located in an area of ​​intensive gold mining. Most likely, a decrease species diversity and the loss from the composition of the ichthyofauna in these areas, primarily of oxyphilic species of rheophiles, is caused by the deterioration of hydrological and hydrochemical conditions caused by anthropogenic load.