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Amur

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of Asia

                              Amur
   Amur watershed

                               Amur watershed

   Origin          The mountains of Northeastern China
   Mouth           The Pacific Ocean, through the Tartar Strait
   Basin countries China, Russia, Mongolia
   Length          4,444 km (2,761 mi)
   Basin area      1,855,000 km² (716,200 mi²)

   The Amur River (Russian: Амур; Simplified Chinese: 黑龙江; Traditional
   Chinese: 黑龍江; pinyin: Hēilóng Jiāng, or "Black Dragon River";
   Mongolian: Хара-Мурэн, Khara-Muren or "Black River"; Manchu: Sahaliyan
   Ula, literal meaning "Black River") is Earth's eighth longest river,
   forming the border between the Russian Far East and Manchuria in China.

   In many historical references these two geopolitical entities are known
   as Inner Manchuria; and Outer Manchuria ( Russian 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 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.

   The name Black River was used by the Manchu and the Qing Dynasty who
   always regarded this river as sacred.

   The economy of the Amur Basin includes manufacturing, metallurgy, iron
   mining, non-ferrous metals, gold, coal, hydroelectricity, wheat,
   millet, soybeans, fishing, timber and Chinese-Russian trade. The Daqing
   oilfield, which is the world's 4th-largest oilfield, is located near
   Daqing City in Heilongjiang, a few hundred kilometers from the river.

   Flowing across northeast Asia for over 4400 km (2,700 mi), from the
   mountains 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 Sakhalin,
   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.

   The average annually 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.

   The Amur proper is 2,874 km long after the junction of two rivers:
     * Northern tributary: the Shilka, originating from the eastern slopes
       of Kente Mountain in Mongolia.
     * Southern tributary: the Argun, originating on the western slopes of
       the Great Khingan Range (大興安嶺) in northeast China.

   The Shilka and the Argun join at Moguhe Village (洛古河村), in western Mohe
   County (漠河县) in Heilongjiang Province, China, and become the Amur
   proper.
   Khabarovsk Bridge across the Amur used to be the longest in Imperial
   Russia and Eurasia. Note: in 1999 the bridge was reconstructed and now
   looks completely different, than on that photo.
   Enlarge
   Khabarovsk Bridge across the Amur used to be the longest in Imperial
   Russia and Eurasia. Note: in 1999 the bridge was reconstructed and now
   looks completely different, than on that photo.

   Major tributaries are:
     * the Shilka,
     * the Argun,
     * the Zeya,
     * the Bureya,
     * the Sunggari,
     * the Ussuri,
     * the Amgun

   The Amur is bordered by Heilongjiang province of China in the south,
   and Amur Oblast, Jewish Autonomous Oblast, and Khabarovsk Krai of
   Russia in the north. The final stretch of the Amur passes through
   Khabarovsk Krai. It passes by the following cities:
     * Huma (China, south bank)
     * Blagoveshchensk (Russia, north bank)
     * Heihe (China, south bank)
     * Jiayin (China, south bank)
     * Tongjiang (China, south bank)
     * Fuyuan (China, south bank)
     * Khabarovsk (Russia, south bank)
     * Komsomolsk-na-Amure (Russia, north bank)
     * Amursk (Russia, north bank)
     * Nikolayevsk-na-Amure (Russia, north bank)

Trivia

     * A reference was made to this river in the 2003 film The League of
       Extraordinary Gentlemen.
     * In a RPG game namely Suikoden III, Amur is one of the region in
       Grasslands.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amur"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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