Anadyr River

Infobox_River
river_name =Anadyr River


caption =
origin = Anadyr Range [http://slovari.yandex.ru/dict/bse/article/00002/90100.htm?text=%D0%90%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%B4%D1%8B%D1%80%D1%8C Anadyr River] article in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia ru icon ]
mouth = Gulf of Anadyr
basin_countries =Siberia, Russian Federation
length_km = 1150
elevation =
mouth_elevation_m = 0
discharge_m3/s = 1000
watershed_km2 = 191000

Anadyr ( _ru. Ана́дырь) is a river in the extreme northeast of Siberia, Russian Federation.

The river rises in the Anadyr Range, about 67̊N latitude and 173̊E longitude, flows through Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, at first southwest and then east, and enters the Gulf of Anadyr of the Bering Sea after a course of about 800 kilometres (500 mi). [The river's source location (67 deg. N. lat. and 173 deg. E. long.), the description of the river's course ("first south-west and then east") and the river's length ("a course of about 500 miles.") are from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition.] The main tributaries from the right are the Yablon, the Eropol and the Maine; from the left are the Chineyveem, the White and the Tanyurer. At the mouth of the river is the Anadyrskiy Liman which is fed by the Anadyr, the Kanchalan, and the Velikaya rivers.

History

On a walrus hunting expedition in 1648 Semyon Dezhnev reached the mouth of the Anadyr. From the liman, Dezhnev went up the river and founded Anadyrskiy ostrog (fort). In the 18th century, the Anadyr was described by the polar explorer Dmitry Laptev.

Ecology

The country through which it passes is thinly populated, and is dominated by tundra, with a rich variety of plant life. [The area, which is still sparsely populated today, was described as "thinly populated" by the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition in 1911.] Much of the region has beautiful landscapes, dominated by often spectacular, rugged mountains. For nine months of the year the ground is covered with snow, and the frozen rivers become navigable roads.

Reindeer, upon which the local inhabitants subsisted, were once found in considerable numbers [This point was made in the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition: "Reindeer, upon which the inhabitants subsist, are found in considerable numbers."] , but the domestic reindeer population has collapsed dramatically since the reorganization and privatization of state-run collective farms beginning in 1992. As herds of domestic reindeer have declined, herds of wild caribou have increased.

There are ten species of salmon inhabiting the Anadyr river basin. Every year, on the last Sunday in April, there is an ice fishing competition in the frozen estuarine waters of the Anadyr River's mouth. This festival is locally known as Korfest.

The area is a summering place for a number of migratory birds including Brent geese, Eurasian Wigeons, and the pintails of California. [Henny, Charles J. (Januay 1973) "Drought Displaced Movement of North American Pintails into Siberia" "The Journal of Wildlife Management" 37(1): pp. 23-29 doi:10.2307/3799734] [ [http://www.werc.usgs.gov/pinsat/journal2001.html "Biologist's Journal 2001" Western Ecological Research Center, United States Geological Survey] ]

ee also

* Operation Anadyr

References and Notes

:1911

Further reading

* Stephan, John Jason (1994). "The Russian Far East: A History". Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA, ISBN 0-8047-2311-7.

External links

* [http://www.chukotka.org/en/tourism/about_tourism/kind_of_tourism/ "Tourist and environmental information"] Chukotka Autonomous Okrug website, in English
* [http://www.wildsalmoncenter.org/pops/AnadyrRiver.php "Russia Far East: Anadyr River" Wild Salmon Center]
** [http://www.wildsalmoncenter.org/RapidAssessments/AnadyrRapidAssessment.pdf Anadyr River Watershed]
* [http://www.faculty.uaf.edu/ffpag/snezhnoe.html "Snezhnoye: a village on the Anadyr' River"]