The Katun River is a river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in the Altai Republic

Altai Republic

Altai Republic is a federal subject of Russia . Its capital is the town of Gorno-Altaysk. The area of the republic is . Population: -Geography:...

 and the Altai Krai

Altai Krai

Altai Krai is a federal subject of Russia . It borders with, clockwise from the south, Kazakhstan, Novosibirsk and Kemerovo Oblasts, and the Altai Republic. The krai's administrative center is the city of Barnaul...

 of Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. It forms the Ob River

Ob River

The Ob River , also Obi, is a major river in western Siberia, Russia and is the world's seventh longest river. It is the westernmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean .The Gulf of Ob is the world's longest estuary.-Names:The Ob is known to the Khanty people as the...

 as it joins the Biya River

Biya River

The Biya River is a river in the Altai Republic and Altai Krai in Russia. It forms the Ob River as it joins the Katun River. The Biya River is 301 km long; the area of its drainage basin is 37,000 km². It flows out of the Teletskoye Lake. The river freezes up in the mid-November to early December...

 some 19 km southwest of Biysk

Biysk

Biysk is a city in Altai Krai, Russia. It is the second largest city of the krai . Population: -Geography:Biysk is situated in southwestern Siberia, on the Biya River . The city is called "the gates to the Altai Mountains", because of its position comparatively not far from this range...

. The Katun River is 688 km long, the area

Area

Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...

 of its drainage basin

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

 is 60,900 km². It originates in the Katun glacier

Glacier

A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

s on the southern slope of the Belukha Mountain

Belukha Mountain

Belukha Mountain , located in the Katun Mountains, is the highest peak of the Altay Mountains in Russia. It is part of the World Heritage Site entitled Golden Mountains of Altai....

. The river freezes up in the late November - early December and breaks up in the early or mid-April. The Katun River has a few tributaries: Argut River, Chuya River

Chuya River

The Chuya River is a river in the Altai Republic in Russia, a right tributary of the Katun River . The Chuya is 320 km long, the area of its drainage basin is 11,200 km². The river freezes up in October - early November and breaks up in late April....

, Koksa River and Sema River. The river is navigable.