Ural River
Encyclopedia
The Ural or Jayıq/Zhayyq , known as Yaik before 1775, is a river flowing through Russia
and Kazakhstan
. It arises in the southern Ural Mountains
and ends at the Caspian Sea
. Its total length is 1,511 mi (2,428 km) making it the third longest river in Europe after the Volga
and the Danube
. Along with the Volga, the Ural River is one of the major rivers feeding the Caspian Sea.
The Ural River arises on the eastern side of the Ural Mountains, flows south parallel and west of the north-flowing Tobol River
, through Magnitogorsk
, and around the southern end of the Urals, through Orsk
where it turns west for about 300 km, to Orenburg
, when the Sakmara River
joins. From Orenburg it continues west, passing into Kazakhstan, then turning south again at Oral
, and meandering through a broad flat plain until it reaches the Caspian a few miles below Atyrau
, where it forms a fine digitate delta at (46°53′N 51°37′E).
The river begins at the slopes of the Kruglaya Mountain of the Uraltau mountain ridge in South Ural, on the territory of the Uchalinsky District of Bashkortostan
. There it has an average width of 60–80 m and flows as a typical mountain river. It then falls into the Yaik Swamp and after exiting it widens up to 5 km. Below Verkhneuralsk
, its flow is characteristic of a flatland river; there it enters Chelyabinsk
and Orenburg Oblast
s. From Magnitogorsk
to Orsk
its banks are steep and rocky and the bottom has many rifts. After Orsk, the river abruptly turns west and flows through a 45 km long canyon in the Guberlinsk Mountains. After Uralsk, it flows from north to south, on the territory of West Kazakhstan Province
and Atyrau Province
of Kazakhstan. There, the river widens and has many lakes and ducts. Near the mouth, it splits into the Yaik and Zolotoy distributaries and forms vast wetlands. The Yaik distributary is shallow, with almost no trees on the shores, and is rich in fish; whereas Zolotoy is deeper and is navigable. Ural River has a spectacular tree-like (or “digitate”) shape of the delta (see image). This type of delta forms naturally in the slow rivers which bring much sediments and flow into a quiet sea. In the delta, 13.5 km from the mouth of the Zolotoy distributary lies Shalyga Island having the length of 2.5 km, heights of 1–2 and maximum widths of 0.3 km.
The tributaries, in order going upstream are Kushum, Derkul, Chagan, Irtek, Utva, Ilek
(major, left), Bolshaya Chobda, Kindel, Sakmara
(major, right), Salmys, Or
(major, left) and Suunduk.
Arguably, Ural River locates at the Europe-Asia border only in its very upper part, near Verkhneuralsk and Magnitogorsk (some authors take the boundary all along the river). The rest of the river flows in Europe, and the border in Kazakhstan runs not along the Ural River, but along the Mugodzhar Hills
and Emba River
. This fact was important in accepting the Kazakhstan national football team
to the European UEFA
league in 2002.
The river is mostly fed by melting snow (60–70%); the contribution of precipitation is relatively minor. Most of its annual discharge (65%) occurs during the spring floods, which occur in March–April near the mouth and in late April–June upstream; 30% drain during the summer-autumn and 5% in winter. During the floods, the river widens to above 10 km near Uralsk and to several tens kilometers near the mouth. Water level is highest in later April upstream and in May downstream. Its fluctuation is 3–4 m in the upper stream, 9–10 m in the middle of the river and about 3 m in the delta. The average water consumption is 104 m3/s near Orenburg, 400 m3/s at the Kushum village (76.5 km from the mouth); maximum consumption is 14,000 m3/s and the lowest is 1.62 m3/s. Average turbidity is 280 g/m3 at Orenburg and 290 g/m3 near Kushum 290. The river freezes at the source in early November and in the middle and lower reaches in late November. It opens in the lower reaches in late March and in early April in the upper reaches. The ice drift is relatively short.
The average depth is 1–1.5 m near the source, it increases in the middle reaches and especially near the mouth. The density of underwater vegetation also increases from the south to the mouth, so as the richness of the fauna. The bottom in the upper stream is rocky, with pebble and sand; it changes to silt-sand and occasionally clay downstream. The basin is asymmetrical – its left side from the river is 2.1 times larger in area than the right side; however, the right side is more important for feeding the river. The density of the tributaries is 0.29 km/km2 in the right and 0.19 km/km2 in the left side of the basin. The right-side tributaries are typical mountain rivers whereas the left-side tributaries have flatland character. About 200 km from the mouth there is a dangerous spot for shipping called Kruglovskaya prorva ( meaning Kruglovsk abyss). Here the river narrows and creates a strong vortex over a deep pit. The climate is continental with frequent and strong winds. Typical annual precipitation is 530 mm.
The wetlands at and near the delta of the Ural River are especially important to migrating birds as an important stop-over along the Asian flyway. They host many endemic and endangered species, such as Great White Pelican, Dalmatian Pelican
, Pygmy Cormorant
, Cattle Egret
, Little Egret
, Greater Flamingo
, White-headed Duck
, Ferruginous Duck
, Eurasian Spoonbill, Glossy Ibis
, Houbara Bustard
, Great Black-headed Gull
, Slender-billed Gull
, Squacco Heron
, Common Crane
, Demoiselle Crane
, Slender-billed Curlew
, Black Stork
, Red-breasted Goose
, Lesser White-fronted Goose
, Lesser Kestrel
, Whooper Swan
, Tundra Swan, Osprey
, Pallid Harrier
, Short-toed Eagle
and many others. The Pygmy Cormorant was observed sporadically before 1999 and more regularly after that. Cattle Egret is observed since 1990 between April and September (as most other migratory birds in this area), with the total population of several dozen couples. It feeds on frogs, mollusks and small fish. Upstream, there are more of the stationary bird species, such as grouse
, wild pigeon and partridge
.
Ural River is also important for many fish species of the Caspian Sea which visit its delta and migrate upstream for spawning. In the lower reaches of the river there are 47 species from 13 families. The family Cyprinidae account for 40%, sturgeon and herring make up 11%, perch and herring 9% and salmon 4.4%. The main commercial species are sturgeon, roach, bream, carp, perch, carp, asp
catfish. The rare species include Caspian salmon, sterlet
, white salmon and kutum
.
In the delta of the river and nearby regions live about 48 animal species belonging to 7 orders
; most common are rodents (21 species) and predators (12). Among them, Bobrinski's Serotine
and Marbled Polecat
are endemic. Key species are Raccoon Dog
, muskrat
(appeared recently), European Hare
, house mouse
, brown rat
, wild boar. Wild boars had a density of 1.2–2.5 per hectare in 2000 and are hunted commercially. Others include elk
, fox, wolf, Dwarf Fat-tailed Jerboa
, Great Gerbil
, Northern Mole Vole
and Saiga Antelope
.
The reptiles are represented by bog turtle
s, common water snakes
, rat snakes
and Sand Lizard
. Bog turtles are found in all waters. Common water snakes live on the banks of canals. Rat snakes and Sand Lizard are few and inhabit relatively high areas of land. Two more reptiles, Caspian whipsnake
and Coluber spinalis, are extremely rare. Among amphibians common are lake frog and green frog.
With estimated 5–10 thousand species, insects exceed all other animals of the region by diversity and biomass. Terrestrial and aquatic insects make up a significant proportion of the diet of birds. Many species are parasitic on birds and transmit infection. Other dominating inhabitants of the river are protozoa
, rotifer
s, Cladocera
and copepod
s. Mollusks are mostly represented by gastropods and bivalves.
, built in the early 1930s) and Orsk-Khalilovsk metallurgical plants, and the low reaches are used for irrigation. Two reservoirs were created near Magnitogorsk, and there is a hydroelectric plant near the village of Iriklinskaya with the corresponding reservoir. Below Uralsk, there is another reservoir and the Kushumsky channel. The river is navigated up to Uralsk and there is a port in Atyrau. Fishery is well developed; the commercial fish species include sturgeon
, perch
, herring
, bream, carp
and catfish
. The delta of Ural River accounts for about half of the fish catchment in Kazakhstan. Also widespread is agriculture, especially growth of melons and watermelons. The city of Atyrau is a major oil producing center of Kazakhstan.
from the 2nd century AD. This name has a Turks origin and is currently official in Kazakhstan
and in the Bashkir language
. In the later European texts it is sometimes mentioned as Rhymnus fluvius and in the Russian chronicle of 1140 as Yaik. The river was renamed in Russian language in 1775, as a result of the motion from Catherine II of Russia
– its name remained unchanged in the Bashkir and Kazakh languages.
In the 10–16th centuries, the city of Saray-Jük
(or Saraichik, meaning "small Sarai") on the Ural River (now in Atyrau Province
of Kazakhstan) was an important trade center on the Silk Road
. In 13th century, it became a stronghold of the Golden Horde
. It was destroyed in 1395 by the army of Timur
but then rebuilt to become the capital of Nogai Horde
in the 15–16th centuries. It was finally reduced to a village in 1580 by the Ural Cossacks.
After the Russian conquest of Ural in the late 16th century, the shores of the Ural became home to the Yaik Cossacks. One of their main activities was fishing for the sturgeon
and related fishes (including the true sturgeon, starry sturgeon
, and beluga
) in the Ural River and the Caspian. A great variety of fishing techniques existed, the most famous of them was bagrenye : spearing hibernating sturgeons in their underwater lairs in December. A large number of Cossacks with pike pole
s were gathering on the shore and after a signal rushed on the ice, broke it with the pole, and speared and pulled the fish. Another fishing technique was constructing a weir
, known as uchug (учуг) across the river, to catch fish going upstream to spawn. Until 1918, an Uchug was set up in summer and autumn near Uralsk so that the fish did not go upstream beyond the Cossacks land. While the uchug weirs were also known in the Volga Delta
, the bagrenye was thought to be a uniquely Ural technique.
The Ural Cossacks (known initially as the Yaik Cossacks) resented the attempts by the central government to impose rules and regulations on them, and on occasions rose in rebellions. The largest rebellion, the Pugachev's Rebellion
of 1773–1775, involved not only Ural, but also the surrounding regions and resulted in a loss of the government control there. After its suppression,
Empress Catherine
issued a decree of 15 January 1775 to rename most of the places involved in the revolt, in order to erase its memories. So Yaik River and other places named Yaik were renamed to Ural and Yaik Cossacks became Ural Cossacks.
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...
and Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
. It arises in the southern Ural Mountains
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
and ends at the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
. Its total length is 1,511 mi (2,428 km) making it the third longest river in Europe after the Volga
Volga River
The Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through central Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including the capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage...
and the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
. Along with the Volga, the Ural River is one of the major rivers feeding the Caspian Sea.
The Ural River arises on the eastern side of the Ural Mountains, flows south parallel and west of the north-flowing Tobol River
Tobol River
Tobol is a river in Kurgan and Tyumen Oblasts in Russia and Kazakhstan, left tributary of the Irtysh. The length of the Tobol River is 1591 km. The area of its drainage basin is 426,000 km². Average discharge at mouth is 805 m³/s. The lower reaches of the river freeze up in late October -...
, through Magnitogorsk
Magnitogorsk
Magnitogorsk is a mining and industrial city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern side of the extreme southern extent of the Ural Mountains by the Ural River. Population: 418,545 ;...
, and around the southern end of the Urals, through Orsk
Orsk
Orsk is the second largest city in Orenburg Oblast, Russia, located on the steppe about southeast of the southern tip of the Ural Mountains. The city straddles the Ural River. Since this river is considered a boundary between Europe and Asia, Orsk can be said to lie in two continents. It is...
where it turns west for about 300 km, to Orenburg
Orenburg
Orenburg is a city on the Ural River and the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies southeast of Moscow, very close to the border with Kazakhstan. Population: 546,987 ; 549,361 ; Highest point: 154.4 m...
, when the Sakmara River
Sakmara River
Sakmara River is a river in Russia that drains the southern tip of the Ural Mountains south into the Ural River. Its length is . It is a tributary of the Ural River, which it meets in Orenburg. The source of the Sakmara River is in the Republic of Bashkortostan...
joins. From Orenburg it continues west, passing into Kazakhstan, then turning south again at Oral
Oral, Kazakhstan
Oral , Uralsk in Russian, formerly known as Yaitsk , is a city in northwestern Kazakhstan, at the confluence of the Ural and Chogan Rivers close to the Russian border. As it is located on the western side of the Ural river, it is considered geographically in Europe. It has a population of 350,000...
, and meandering through a broad flat plain until it reaches the Caspian a few miles below Atyrau
Atyrau
Atyrau , known as Guryev until 1991, is a city in Kazakhstan, and the capital of Atyrau Province. It is located at the mouth of the Ural River, 2700 kilometers west of Almaty and 350 kilometers east of the Russian city of Astrakhan. Other transliterations include Aterau, Atirau, Atyraw, Atyraou,...
, where it forms a fine digitate delta at (46°53′N 51°37′E).
Geography
Bashkortostan
The Republic of Bashkortostan , also known as Bashkiria is a federal subject of Russia . It is located between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains. Its capital is the city of Ufa...
. There it has an average width of 60–80 m and flows as a typical mountain river. It then falls into the Yaik Swamp and after exiting it widens up to 5 km. Below Verkhneuralsk
Verkhneuralsk
Verkhneuralsk is a town and the administrative center of Verkhneuralsky District of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located in the upper streams of the Ural River, southwest of Chelyabinsk. Population:...
, its flow is characteristic of a flatland river; there it enters Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk Oblast
-External links:*...
and Orenburg Oblast
Orenburg Oblast
Orenburg Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Orenburg. From 1938 to 1957, it bore the name Chkalov Oblast in honor of Valery Chkalov...
s. From Magnitogorsk
Magnitogorsk
Magnitogorsk is a mining and industrial city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern side of the extreme southern extent of the Ural Mountains by the Ural River. Population: 418,545 ;...
to Orsk
Orsk
Orsk is the second largest city in Orenburg Oblast, Russia, located on the steppe about southeast of the southern tip of the Ural Mountains. The city straddles the Ural River. Since this river is considered a boundary between Europe and Asia, Orsk can be said to lie in two continents. It is...
its banks are steep and rocky and the bottom has many rifts. After Orsk, the river abruptly turns west and flows through a 45 km long canyon in the Guberlinsk Mountains. After Uralsk, it flows from north to south, on the territory of West Kazakhstan Province
West Kazakhstan Province
West Kazakhstan Province is a province of Kazakhstan. Its capital is Oral , a city of about 200,000 inhabitants.-Geography:...
and Atyrau Province
Atyrau Province
Atyrau Oblast is a province of Kazakhstan. It is situated in the west of the country around the northeast of the Caspian Sea. Its capital is the city of Atyrau, with a population of 142,500 people; the province itself has 480,000 people...
of Kazakhstan. There, the river widens and has many lakes and ducts. Near the mouth, it splits into the Yaik and Zolotoy distributaries and forms vast wetlands. The Yaik distributary is shallow, with almost no trees on the shores, and is rich in fish; whereas Zolotoy is deeper and is navigable. Ural River has a spectacular tree-like (or “digitate”) shape of the delta (see image). This type of delta forms naturally in the slow rivers which bring much sediments and flow into a quiet sea. In the delta, 13.5 km from the mouth of the Zolotoy distributary lies Shalyga Island having the length of 2.5 km, heights of 1–2 and maximum widths of 0.3 km.
The tributaries, in order going upstream are Kushum, Derkul, Chagan, Irtek, Utva, Ilek
Ilek River
The Ilek River is a steppe river at the southern end of the Ural Mountains. It is a tributary of the Ural River and lies in the Orenburg Oblast in Russia and Republic of Kazakhstan. It rises just south of Orsk, flows south a short distance and then flows westward south of and parallel to the Ural...
(major, left), Bolshaya Chobda, Kindel, Sakmara
Sakmara River
Sakmara River is a river in Russia that drains the southern tip of the Ural Mountains south into the Ural River. Its length is . It is a tributary of the Ural River, which it meets in Orenburg. The source of the Sakmara River is in the Republic of Bashkortostan...
(major, right), Salmys, Or
Or River
Or is a river in Orenburg Oblast of Russia and Aktobe Province of Kazakhstan. It is a left tributary of the Ural River, and is 332 km long, with a drainage basin of 18 600 km². The river is formed by the confluence of the Shiyli and Terisbutak Rivers, which have their sources on the...
(major, left) and Suunduk.
Arguably, Ural River locates at the Europe-Asia border only in its very upper part, near Verkhneuralsk and Magnitogorsk (some authors take the boundary all along the river). The rest of the river flows in Europe, and the border in Kazakhstan runs not along the Ural River, but along the Mugodzhar Hills
Mugodzhar Hills
Mugodzhar Hills is a series of mountain ranges in Northwestern Kazakhstan 275 miles long. Latitude : 48° 38' 38 N Longitude : 58° 32' 47 E...
and Emba River
Emba River
The Emba River in west Kazakhstan rises in the Mugodzhar Hills and flows some 400 miles southwest into the Caspian Sea. It flows through the north of the Ust-Urt plateau, and reaches the Caspian by a series of shallow lagoons, which were navigable in the 18th century. The lower course traverses...
. This fact was important in accepting the Kazakhstan national football team
Kazakhstan national football team
The Kazakhstan national football team represents Kazakhstan in international men's association football and is directed by Football Federation of Kazakhstan. They split from the Soviet Union national football team after independence in 1991 and joined the Asian Football Confederation's Central and...
to the European UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
league in 2002.
Hydrography
The average depth is 1–1.5 m near the source, it increases in the middle reaches and especially near the mouth. The density of underwater vegetation also increases from the south to the mouth, so as the richness of the fauna. The bottom in the upper stream is rocky, with pebble and sand; it changes to silt-sand and occasionally clay downstream. The basin is asymmetrical – its left side from the river is 2.1 times larger in area than the right side; however, the right side is more important for feeding the river. The density of the tributaries is 0.29 km/km2 in the right and 0.19 km/km2 in the left side of the basin. The right-side tributaries are typical mountain rivers whereas the left-side tributaries have flatland character. About 200 km from the mouth there is a dangerous spot for shipping called Kruglovskaya prorva ( meaning Kruglovsk abyss). Here the river narrows and creates a strong vortex over a deep pit. The climate is continental with frequent and strong winds. Typical annual precipitation is 530 mm.
Fauna
Dalmatian Pelican
The Dalmatian Pelican is a member of the pelican family. It breeds from southeastern Europe to India and China in swamps and shallow lakes. The nest is a crude heap of vegetation....
, Pygmy Cormorant
Pygmy Cormorant
The Pygmy Cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It breeds in southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia. It is partially migratory, with northern populations wintering further south, mostly within in its breeding range...
, Cattle Egret
Cattle Egret
The Cattle Egret is a cosmopolitan species of heron found in the tropics, subtropics and warm temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Bubulcus, although some authorities regard its two subspecies as full species, the Western Cattle Egret and the Eastern Cattle Egret...
, Little Egret
Little Egret
The Little Egret is a small white heron. It is the Old World counterpart to the very similar New World Snowy Egret.-Subspecies:Depending on authority, two or three subspecies of Little Egret are currently accepted....
, Greater Flamingo
Greater Flamingo
The Greater Flamingo is the most widespread species of the flamingo family. It is found in parts of Africa, southern Asia , and southern Europe...
, White-headed Duck
White-headed Duck
The White-headed Duck is a small stiff-tailed duck.Adult males have a grey and reddish body, a blue bill and a largely white head with a black cap and neck. Adult females have a grey-brown body with a white face and a darker bill, cap and a cheek stripe.This duck breeds in Spain and North Africa,...
, Ferruginous Duck
Ferruginous Duck
The Ferruginous Duck is a medium-sized diving duck from Eurasia. The species is known colloquially by birders as "Fudge Duck"....
, Eurasian Spoonbill, Glossy Ibis
Glossy Ibis
The Glossy Ibis is a wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae.This is the most widespread ibis species, breeding in scattered sites in warm regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Atlantic and Caribbean region of the Americas...
, Houbara Bustard
Houbara Bustard
The Houbara Bustard, Chlamydotis undulata, is a large bird in the bustard family.-Description:The Houbara Bustard is a small to mid-sized bustard. It measures in length and spans across the wings. It is brown above and white below, with a black stripe down the sides of its neck. In flight, the...
, Great Black-headed Gull
Great Black-headed Gull
The Pallas's Gull or Great Black-headed Gull, Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus, is a large gull. As is the case with many gulls, it has traditionally been placed in the genus Larus....
, Slender-billed Gull
Slender-billed Gull
The Slender-billed Gull, Chroicocephalus genei, is a mid-sized gull which breeds very locally around the Mediterranean and the north of the western Indian Ocean on islands and coastal lagoons. Most of the population is somewhat migratory, wintering further south to north Africa and India, and a...
, Squacco Heron
Squacco Heron
The Squacco Heron, Ardeola ralloides, is a small heron, long, of which the body is , with wingspan. It is of Old World origins, breeding in southern Europe and the Greater Middle East.-Behaviour:...
, Common Crane
Common Crane
The Common Crane , also known as the Eurasian Crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes.It is a large, stately bird and a medium-sized crane at 100–130 cm long, with a 180–240 cm wingspan and a weight of 4.5–6 kg...
, Demoiselle Crane
Demoiselle Crane
The Demoiselle Crane, Anthropoides virgo, is a species of crane that breeds in Central Asia and winters in India, with a few found in Cyprus and eastern Turkey as well. The crane annually migrates to Africa and South Asia in winter...
, Slender-billed Curlew
Slender-billed Curlew
The Slender-billed Curlew, Numenius tenuirostris, is a bird in the wader family Scolopacidae. It breeds in marshes and peat bogs in the taiga of Siberia, and is migratory, formerly wintering in shallow freshwater habitats around the Mediterranean...
, Black Stork
Black Stork
The Black Stork Ciconia nigra is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It is a widespread, but rare, species that breeds in the warmer parts of Europe, predominantly in central and eastern regions. This is a shy and wary species, unlike the closely related White Stork. It is seen in...
, Red-breasted Goose
Red-breasted Goose
The Red-breasted Goose is an endangered species of goose in the genus Branta. It is sometimes separated in Rufibrenta but appears close enough to the Brent Goose to make this unnecessary, despite its distinct appearance.- Description :All the species of the Branta genus are distinguished by their...
, Lesser White-fronted Goose
Lesser White-fronted Goose
The Lesser White-fronted Goose is a goose closely related to the larger White-fronted Goose .It breeds in northernmost Asia, but it is a scarce breeder in Europe. There is a re-introduction scheme in Fennoscandia....
, Lesser Kestrel
Lesser Kestrel
The Lesser Kestrel is a small falcon. This species breeds from the Mediterranean across southern central Asia to China and Mongolia. It is a summer migrant, wintering in Africa and Pakistan and sometimes even to India and Iraq. It is rare north of its breeding range, and declining in its European...
, Whooper Swan
Whooper Swan
The Whooper Swan , Cygnus cygnus, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. It is the Eurasian counterpart of the North American Trumpeter Swan. An old name for the Whooper Swan is Elk; it is so called in Francis Willughby and John Ray's Ornithology of 1676.-Description:The Whooper Swan is similar in...
, Tundra Swan, Osprey
Osprey
The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...
, Pallid Harrier
Pallid Harrier
The Pale or Pallid Harrier is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier family. It breeds in southern parts of eastern Europe and central Asia and winters mainly in India and southeast Asia...
, Short-toed Eagle
Short-toed Eagle
The Short-toed Snake Eagle also known as Short-toed Eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers.-Range and habitat:...
and many others. The Pygmy Cormorant was observed sporadically before 1999 and more regularly after that. Cattle Egret is observed since 1990 between April and September (as most other migratory birds in this area), with the total population of several dozen couples. It feeds on frogs, mollusks and small fish. Upstream, there are more of the stationary bird species, such as grouse
Grouse
Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes. They are sometimes considered a family Tetraonidae, though the American Ornithologists' Union and many others include grouse as a subfamily Tetraoninae in the family Phasianidae...
, wild pigeon and partridge
Partridge
Partridges are birds in the pheasant family, Phasianidae. They are a non-migratory Old World group.These are medium-sized birds, intermediate between the larger pheasants and the smaller quails. Partridges are native to Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East...
.
Ural River is also important for many fish species of the Caspian Sea which visit its delta and migrate upstream for spawning. In the lower reaches of the river there are 47 species from 13 families. The family Cyprinidae account for 40%, sturgeon and herring make up 11%, perch and herring 9% and salmon 4.4%. The main commercial species are sturgeon, roach, bream, carp, perch, carp, asp
Asp (fish)
The Asp is a European freshwater fish of the Cyprinid family. It is protected by the Bern Convention of endangered species and habitats . Asps are also on the IUCN Red List of endangered species....
catfish. The rare species include Caspian salmon, sterlet
Sterlet
The sterlet is a common Eurasian species of sturgeon, one of the smaller species of sturgeon. It is a common domestic species in the UK and Europe and an angling species all over the world...
, white salmon and kutum
Kutum (fish)
The Kutum also known as "Kütüm" in Azerbaijani, "Caspian White Fish", "Caspian Roach", "māhi sefid" ماهی سفید in Persian, "Talaji" in Mazandarani, and "sifid mahyi" in Gileki , is a medium sized fresh water and brackish water fish native to the Caspian Sea...
.
In the delta of the river and nearby regions live about 48 animal species belonging to 7 orders
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
; most common are rodents (21 species) and predators (12). Among them, Bobrinski's Serotine
Bobrinski's Serotine
Bobrinski's Serotine is a species of vesper bat in the Vespertilionidae family.It can be found in the following countries: possibly Iran , Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.-References:...
and Marbled Polecat
Marbled polecat
The marbled polecat is a small mammal belonging to the monotypic genus Vormela within the Mustelinae subfamily. Vormela is from the German word Würmlein, which means "little Worm". The term peregusna comes from pereguznya, which is Ukrainian for polecat...
are endemic. Key species are Raccoon Dog
Raccoon Dog
The raccoon dog , also known as the magnut or tanuki, is a canid indigenous to east Asia. It is the only extant species in the genus Nyctereutes...
, muskrat
Muskrat
The muskrat , the only species in genus Ondatra, is a medium-sized semi-aquatic rodent native to North America, and introduced in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands and is a very successful animal over a wide range of climates and habitats...
(appeared recently), European Hare
European Hare
The European hare , also known as the brown hare, Eastern Jackrabbit and Eastern prairie hare, is a species of hare native to northern, central, and western Europe and western Asia. It is a mammal adapted to temperate open country. It is related to the similarly appearing rabbit, which is in the...
, house mouse
House mouse
The house mouse is a small rodent, a mouse, one of the most numerous species of the genus Mus.As a wild animal the house mouse mainly lives associated with humans, causing damage to crops and stored food....
, brown rat
Brown Rat
The brown rat, common rat, sewer rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat, Brown Norway rat, Norwegian rat, or wharf rat is one of the best known and most common rats....
, wild boar. Wild boars had a density of 1.2–2.5 per hectare in 2000 and are hunted commercially. Others include elk
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
, fox, wolf, Dwarf Fat-tailed Jerboa
Dwarf Fat-tailed Jerboa
The Dwarf Fat-tailed Jerboa is a species of rodent in the Dipodidae family. It is found in China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Russia.-References:* Baillie, J. 1996. . Downloaded on 30 July 2007....
, Great Gerbil
Great Gerbil
The Great Gerbil is a large gerbil found throughout much of Central Asia.-Description:The largest of the gerbils, Great Gerbils have a head and body length between 15-20cm . Their skulls are distinctive by having two grooves in each incisor...
, Northern Mole Vole
Northern Mole Vole
The northern mole vole is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.It is distributed over large parts of Eastern Europe and Asia.-Distribution:...
and Saiga Antelope
Saiga Antelope
The saiga is a Critically Endangered antelope which originally inhabited a vast area of the Eurasian steppe zone from the foothills of the Carpathians and Caucasus into Dzungaria and Mongolia. They also lived in North America during the Pleistocene...
.
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| Northern Mole Vole | Great Gerbil | Marbled Polecat | Sturgeon |
The reptiles are represented by bog turtle
Bog turtle
The bog turtle is a semiaquatic turtle endemic to the eastern United States. It was first scientifically described in 1801 after an 18th century survey of Pennsylvania. It is the smallest North American turtle, measuring about long when fully grown...
s, common water snakes
Natrix
Natrix is a genus of colubrid snakes. There are three or four species in the genus. They are collectively called grass snakes and water snakes...
, rat snakes
Elaphe
Elaphe is one of the main genera of the rat snakes, which are found in many regions of the northern hemisphere. Elaphe are medium to large constrictors by nature....
and Sand Lizard
Sand Lizard
The sand lizard is a lacertid lizard distributed across most of Europe and eastwards to Mongolia. It does not occur in the Iberian peninsula or European Turkey. Its distribution is often patchy....
. Bog turtles are found in all waters. Common water snakes live on the banks of canals. Rat snakes and Sand Lizard are few and inhabit relatively high areas of land. Two more reptiles, Caspian whipsnake
Caspian whipsnake
The Caspian whipsnake also known as the large whipsnake , is a common species of whipsnake found in the Balkans and parts of Eastern Europe.-Description:The Caspian whipsnake may grow to a maximum length of approximately...
and Coluber spinalis, are extremely rare. Among amphibians common are lake frog and green frog.
With estimated 5–10 thousand species, insects exceed all other animals of the region by diversity and biomass. Terrestrial and aquatic insects make up a significant proportion of the diet of birds. Many species are parasitic on birds and transmit infection. Other dominating inhabitants of the river are protozoa
Protozoa
Protozoa are a diverse group of single-cells eukaryotic organisms, many of which are motile. Throughout history, protozoa have been defined as single-cell protists with animal-like behavior, e.g., movement...
, rotifer
Rotifer
The rotifers make up a phylum of microscopic and near-microscopic pseudocoelomate animals. They were first described by Rev. John Harris in 1696, and other forms were described by Anton van Leeuwenhoek in 1703...
s, Cladocera
Cladocera
Cladocera is an order of small crustaceans commonly called water fleas. Around 620 species have been recognised so far, with many more undescribed. They are ubiquitous in inland aquatic habitats, but rare in the oceans. Most are long, with a down-turned head, and a carapace covering the apparently...
and copepod
Copepod
Copepods are a group of small crustaceans found in the sea and nearly every freshwater habitat. Some species are planktonic , some are benthic , and some continental species may live in limno-terrestrial habitats and other wet terrestrial places, such as swamps, under leaf fall in wet forests,...
s. Mollusks are mostly represented by gastropods and bivalves.
Industry
The water from he upper reaches of the Ural River is used to supply the prominent Magnitogorsk (Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel WorksMagnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works
Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works , abbreviated as MMK, is the third largest steel company in Russia. It is located in the city of Magnitogorsk, in Chelyabinsk Oblast....
, built in the early 1930s) and Orsk-Khalilovsk metallurgical plants, and the low reaches are used for irrigation. Two reservoirs were created near Magnitogorsk, and there is a hydroelectric plant near the village of Iriklinskaya with the corresponding reservoir. Below Uralsk, there is another reservoir and the Kushumsky channel. The river is navigated up to Uralsk and there is a port in Atyrau. Fishery is well developed; the commercial fish species include sturgeon
Sturgeon
Sturgeon is the common name used for some 26 species of fish in the family Acipenseridae, including the genera Acipenser, Huso, Scaphirhynchus and Pseudoscaphirhynchus. The term includes over 20 species commonly referred to as sturgeon and several closely related species that have distinct common...
, perch
Perch
Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the...
, herring
Herring
Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...
, bream, carp
Carp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...
and catfish
Catfish
Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...
. The delta of Ural River accounts for about half of the fish catchment in Kazakhstan. Also widespread is agriculture, especially growth of melons and watermelons. The city of Atyrau is a major oil producing center of Kazakhstan.
Etymology
Until 1775, the river was called Yaik and was labeled as Jajykon on the map by PtolemyPtolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
from the 2nd century AD. This name has a Turks origin and is currently official in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
and in the Bashkir language
Bashkir language
The Bashkir language is a Turkic language, and is the language of the Bashkirs. It is co-official with Russian in the Republic of Bashkortostan.-Speakers:...
. In the later European texts it is sometimes mentioned as Rhymnus fluvius and in the Russian chronicle of 1140 as Yaik. The river was renamed in Russian language in 1775, as a result of the motion from Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
– its name remained unchanged in the Bashkir and Kazakh languages.
History
Saray-Jük
Saray-Jük or Saraychyq was a medieval city on the border between Europe and Asia in the 10th-16th centuries. It was located on the Ural River, modern Kazakhstan, Atyrau Province, near Sarayshyq village, 50 km above Atyrau...
(or Saraichik, meaning "small Sarai") on the Ural River (now in Atyrau Province
Atyrau Province
Atyrau Oblast is a province of Kazakhstan. It is situated in the west of the country around the northeast of the Caspian Sea. Its capital is the city of Atyrau, with a population of 142,500 people; the province itself has 480,000 people...
of Kazakhstan) was an important trade center on the Silk Road
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
. In 13th century, it became a stronghold of the Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
. It was destroyed in 1395 by the army of Timur
Timur
Timur , historically known as Tamerlane in English , was a 14th-century conqueror of West, South and Central Asia, and the founder of the Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, and great-great-grandfather of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, which survived as the Mughal Empire in India until...
but then rebuilt to become the capital of Nogai Horde
Nogai Horde
The Nogai Horde was a confederation of about eighteen Turkic and Mongol tribes that occupied the Pontic-Caspian steppe from about 1500 until they were pushed west by the Kalmyks and south by the Russians in the 17th century. The Mongol tribe called the Manghits constituted a core of the Horde...
in the 15–16th centuries. It was finally reduced to a village in 1580 by the Ural Cossacks.
After the Russian conquest of Ural in the late 16th century, the shores of the Ural became home to the Yaik Cossacks. One of their main activities was fishing for the sturgeon
Sturgeon
Sturgeon is the common name used for some 26 species of fish in the family Acipenseridae, including the genera Acipenser, Huso, Scaphirhynchus and Pseudoscaphirhynchus. The term includes over 20 species commonly referred to as sturgeon and several closely related species that have distinct common...
and related fishes (including the true sturgeon, starry sturgeon
Starry sturgeon
Starry Sturgeon, Acipenser stellatus, also known as Drakul and Uzun Burun is a species of sturgeons, living in the Black, Azov, and Caspian sea basins. It is rare in the Adriatic Sea. It reaches 220 cm and weighs up to 80 kg . The maximum reported age for this species is 27 years...
, and beluga
Beluga
The beluga or white whale, Delphinapterus leucas, is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal. This marine mammal is commonly referred to simply as the beluga or sea canary due to its high-pitched twitter...
) in the Ural River and the Caspian. A great variety of fishing techniques existed, the most famous of them was bagrenye : spearing hibernating sturgeons in their underwater lairs in December. A large number of Cossacks with pike pole
Pike pole
Pike poles are long poles usually 4-12 feet in length used by firefighters to search for fires hidden behind the sheetrock in the walls and ceiling. These days they are made out of fiberglass with metal hooks on the end, and are used to pull items from an area of intense heat and flame, and...
s were gathering on the shore and after a signal rushed on the ice, broke it with the pole, and speared and pulled the fish. Another fishing technique was constructing a weir
Weir
A weir is a small overflow dam used to alter the flow characteristics of a river or stream. In most cases weirs take the form of a barrier across the river that causes water to pool behind the structure , but allows water to flow over the top...
, known as uchug (учуг) across the river, to catch fish going upstream to spawn. Until 1918, an Uchug was set up in summer and autumn near Uralsk so that the fish did not go upstream beyond the Cossacks land. While the uchug weirs were also known in the Volga Delta
Volga Delta
The Volga Delta is the largest river delta in Europe, and occurs where Europe's largest river system, the Volga River, drains into the Caspian Sea in Russia's Astrakhan Oblast, north-east of the republic of Kalmykia. The delta is located in the Caspian Depression—the far eastern part of the delta...
, the bagrenye was thought to be a uniquely Ural technique.
The Ural Cossacks (known initially as the Yaik Cossacks) resented the attempts by the central government to impose rules and regulations on them, and on occasions rose in rebellions. The largest rebellion, the Pugachev's Rebellion
Pugachev's Rebellion
Pugachev's Rebellion of 1774-75 was the principal revolt in a series of popular rebellions that took place in Russia after Catherine II seized power in 1762...
of 1773–1775, involved not only Ural, but also the surrounding regions and resulted in a loss of the government control there. After its suppression,
Empress Catherine
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
issued a decree of 15 January 1775 to rename most of the places involved in the revolt, in order to erase its memories. So Yaik River and other places named Yaik were renamed to Ural and Yaik Cossacks became Ural Cossacks.