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Table of Contents
The Amur River is the 10th-longest river in the world, measuring about 2,824 kilometers long and forming the border between Russian Far East and Northeastern China.
See the fact file below for more information on the Amur River or alternatively, you can download our 23-page Amur River worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
NAME DESCRIPTIONS
- Being surrounded by two large countries, Amur has received different names. The name “Amur” originated from the local adverb words “amar” and “damour”, meaning “big” and “river” respectively.
- Also, the Russian name “Amur” is from the Mongolian name “Amar”, meaning quiet or peaceful.
- Its ancient names were Yushui, Wanshui, and Heishui.
- Amur’s Chinese name, Heilongjiang, means “Black Dragon River”. Its Mongol name, Kharamuren, means “Black River”.
- Amur is also called Silkar in Tungussian, and Sahaliyan Ula in Manchurian.
HISTORY
- The Amur River basin was originally populated by nomadic hunters and cattle breeders.
- The peoples north of the river included the Buryat, Sakha (Yakut), Nanai, Nivkh (Gilyak), Udegey, and Orok, with various groups of Mongols and Manchu south of the river.
- Some Manchu tribes conquered China from this homeland, and they established the Qing (Manchu) dynasty (1644–1911/12) in China, which ruled the entire Amur basin.
- Though Russian explorers and traders started to enter the area north of the Amur during the 17th century, the Nerchinsk Treaty confirmed Chinese sovereignty over the whole basin.
- Despite the treaty, north Amur was settled by Russians and others from the west. Further Russian invasion of the region followed after 1850, and China surrendered the lands north of the Amur and east of the Ussuri to Russia.
- Early Russian discovery of the Amur basin was undertaken by explorers Vasily Poyarkov, who explored much of the river and waterway between 1644 and 1646, and Yerofey P. Khabarov (explored from 1649–1651), after whom Khabarovsk is named.
- From 1849–1855, Russian naval officer Gennady I led an expedition.
- The Russian acquisitions of 1858 and 1860, which the Chinese considered to be an indication of unjust treaties imposed upon a vulnerable China, were long resented in China.
- The Russians extended their influence across Manchuria to Harbin and south to Dairen (Dalian) port.
- However, Russian power was overshadowed by the Japanese, whose empire spread through Manchuria in the decades leading up to World War II.
- Sino-Soviet tensions in the region simmered after the war until they erupted in 1969 along the Ussuri in armed conflict. However, since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, efforts were made by Russia and China for greater political and economic cooperation in the region.
PHYSICAL FEATURES
- Physiography
- A basin of around 716,200 square miles (1,855,000 square km) is drained by the Amur and its tributaries.
- The Amur proper starts at the confluence of the rivers Shilka and Argun (Ergun), 1,755 miles (2,824 km) from its mouth.
- The Shilka starts more than 340 miles (550 km) farther inland in Siberia at the junction of the Ingoda and Onon rivers, while Argun rises about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from its confluence with the Shilka in Inner Mongolia.
- The Amur’s most important tributaries include the rivers Zeya, Bureya, and Amgun, which enter from Siberia on the left bank. Also, the river Sungari (Songhua) enters from China on the right, and the river Ussuri (Wusuli) flows north along China’s eastern border with Siberia until it joins the Amur at Khabarovsk just after entering Russia.
- The largest lake in the system is Lake Khanka (Xingkai), the source of the Ussuri.
- Climate
- The Amur basin’s climate is affected by its northern location – between 45° and 55° N latitudes – and by the monsoon winds that shape the climate of all East Asia. Continental air masses dominate in winter, bringing dry, frigid weather.
- Plant and Animal Life
- Much of the Amur basin rests in the vegetation zone of the taiga. Larch is the predominant species, with some pine, spruce, and fir on drier land.
- The Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) and the Amur cork tree (Phellodendron amurense) are located to the east. The Argun River passes through a region of steppe grassland to the west.
- Broad-leaved, mixed broad-leaved, and coniferous forests dominated by Mongolian oak (Quercus mongolica), pine, and dahurian larch are found in the Da and Xiao Hinggan ranges southern of the Amur.
- The Amur is rich in fish. The lower river has over 100 species of fish, and the upper river has 60, which surpasses major European rivers like the Volga and the Danube.
- About 25 to 30 species are commercially important.
- Bridges and tunnels
- The Khabarovsk Bridge is the first concrete bridge over the Amur. It has a total length of 2,590 meters (8,500 ft) and was completed in 1916, enabling the trains on the Trans-Siberian Railway to cross the river during the year without using ferries or railway tracks on the ice.
- In 2007, Valery Gurevich proposed a railway bridge called Tongjiang-Nizhneleninskoye. The bridge’s Chinese section was done in July 2016. Work on the Russian portion of the Bridge began in December 2016. It is projected the bridge will open in 2020.
Amur River Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Amur River across 23 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Amur River worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Amur River which is the 10th-longest river in the world, measuring about 2,824 kilometers long and forming the border between Russian Far East and Northeastern China.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- Amur River Facts
- Stating Facts
- Unjumble Words
- Wait…There’s More!
- Wildlife
- Bubble Bee
- The Ten Rivers
- Amur Essay
- 4, 3, 2, 1!
- What’s Up?
- Comic Strip
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Link will appear as Amur River Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, June 24, 2020
Use With Any Curriculum
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