Ussuri

The Ussuri (/uːˈsʊəri/ oo-SOOR-ee; Russian: Уссури [ʊsˈsurʲɪ]) or Wusuli (Chinese: 乌苏里; pinyin: wūsūlǐ [ǔsǔlî]) is a river that runs through Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais, Russia and the southeast region of Northeast China in the province of Heilongjiang. It rises in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range, flowing north and forming part of the Sino-Russian border (which is based on the Sino-Russian Convention of Peking of 1860), until it joins the Amur as a tributary near Khabarovsk. It is approximately 897 km (557 mi) long. The Ussuri drains the Ussuri basin, which covers 193,000 km² (75,000 sq mi). Its waters come from rain (60%), snow (30–35%), and subterranean springs. The average discharge is 1,620 m³/s (57,000 cu ft/s), and the average elevation is 1,682 metres (5,518 ft).

Ussuri ᡠᠰᡠᡵᡳ ᡠᠯᠠ
Location
Country	China, Russia
Physical characteristics
Mouth	Amur
• coordinates	48°16′00″N 134°43′13″E / 48.2666°N 134.7204°E / 48.2666; 134.7204
Length	897 km (557 mi)
Basin size	193,000 km^2 (75,000 sq mi)
Discharge
• location	Khabarovsk, Russia (near mouth)
• average	1,620 m^3/s (57,000 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Progression	Amur→ Sea of Okhotsk

Ussuri
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	烏蘇里江
Simplified Chinese	乌苏里江
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wūsūlǐ Jiāng Gwoyeu Romatzyh Usulii Jiang Wade–Giles Wu^1su^1li^3 Chiang^1 IPA [ú.sú.lì tɕjáŋ]
Manchu name
Manchu script	ᡠᠰᡠᡵᡳ ᡠᠯᠠ
Romanization	usuri ula
Russian name
Russian	река Уссури
Romanization	reka Ussuri
Japanese name
Japanese	ウスリー川 Usurī Kawa

Names

The Ussuri has been known by many names. In Manchu, it was called the Usuri Ula or Dobi Bira (River of Foxes) and in Mongolian the Üssüri Müren. Ussuri is Manchu for soot-black river.

History

• The Ussuri has a reputation for catastrophic floods. It freezes up in November and stays under the ice until April. The river teems with different kinds of fish: grayling, sturgeon, humpback salmon (gorbusha), chum salmon (keta), and others.
• During World War II, the river marked one of the boundaries which Soviet forces crossed into Manchuria in Operation August Storm in 1945.
• The Sino-Soviet border conflict of 1969 took place at the Soviet Damansky Island on the Ussuri River.

Tributaries

Major tributaries of the Ussuri are, from source to mouth:

• Arsenyevka (left)
• Sungacha (left)
• Muling (left)
• Bolshaya Ussurka (right)
• Bikin (right)
• Naoli (left)
• Khor (right)

See also

• Ussuri brown bear
• Ussurian tiger
• Suiphun–Khanka meadows and forest meadows

Sources

• Narangoa, Li (2014). Historical Atlas of Northeast Asia, 1590-2010: Korea, Manchuria, Mongolia, Eastern Siberia. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231160704.