Ussuri River

The Ussuri River) is a long river in northeast Asia, a right-bank tributary of the lower Amur River. It is 897 km long and drains a basin of 193,000 km².

Administratively, it runs through the Khabarovsk and Primorye krais of the Russian Federation and forms the border with the Chinese province of Heilongjiang for a long stretch.

Geography

The Ussuri River rises in the Sijoté-Alín mountain range, less than 50 km from the coast of the East Japan Sea. It first heads south, then describes a wide curve and turns north until it joins the Amur River in the Russian city of Khabarovsk. Much of its route delimits the border between China and Russia. The total length of the river is about 897 km. Located in a region with a very cold climate, the river remains frozen between the months of November and April. The river floods due to melting ice and rain are the cause of frequent flooding in the area.

The main tributaries of the Ussuri River, in a downstream direction, are the following rivers:

• Arsénievka river (on the left), with a length of 294 km and a basin of 7.060 km2;
• Songacha river (on the left), the main emissary of the great Lake Janka (4,190 km2), which forms a border between China and Russia, with a length of 180-210 km (frequently a change of channel) and a basin of 25.600 km2;
• Muling river (on the left), with a length of 577 km and a basin of 18,500 km2;
• Bolshaya Ussurka river (on the right), with a length of 440 km and a basin of 29.600 km2;
• Bikin river (on the right), with a length of 560 km and a basin of 22,300 km2;
• river Naoli (on the left), with a length of 596 km and a basin of 24,000 km2;
• River Jor (or Khor) (on the right), with a length of 453 km and a basin of 24,700 km2;

History

In 1891, construction of the Trans-Siberian railway line began at both ends at the same time. The eastern team set out from Vladivostok heading north, then running along the right bank of the Ussuri River until reaching Khabarovsk, where the line crossed the Amur River via a large bridge. This was the first section of the Trans-Siberian Railway to be completed and entered service in 1897, known as the Ussuri Railway, more than 750 km long.

The Ussuri River is also famous for having been the scene of armed clashes between the Chinese and Soviet armies in 1969. The most serious moment was the combat between Chinese and Russian troops for the island of Zhenbao or Damanski, then controlled by the Soviet Union. In 1991 the Russian government agreed to recognize Chinese sovereignty over many of the small islands located in the river as a goodwill gesture to end territorial disputes between the two countries.