Chuya River

Chuya valley in Altai mountains

Chuya ( Чуя ) in the catchment area of the Katun (orange)

Template: Infobox River / Obsolete

The chuya (Russian Чуя ) is a 320 km long right tributary of the Katun, the strongest source river of the West Siberian Whether stream. It rises near the border with Mongolia in the east of the Russian Altai north of the border passport Durbet Daba ( 2482 m).

The uppermost headwaters of chuya come mainly from an easterly and northerly direction. After about 20 km of the young river passes through the border station Taschanta, which is slightly below the pass on the highway M52. The next 50 km it flows at the edge of a vast plateau, the chuya - steppe, and receives water from the headwaters Kysylschin and Tschaganka.

Here is Kosh- Agach, the capital of the region ( Rajon Kosh- Agach ) to almost 2000 meters above sea level. In this sparsely vegetated, but still usable for camel breeding steppe prevails extreme continental climate. It is populated part of the Altai, the driest and coldest in winter ( measured minimum temperature -62 ° C).

The more Talverlauf is almost straight in the direction west-northwest, which is the main focus of the regional mountain ranges. When mountain village Tsaghan - Uzun the high steppe turns into a steep valley, whose slopes are partly covered with the larches of the Siberian forest zone. The road leads past rock walls and deep gorges; where the river valley is too tight, it winds through small passes.

About 90 km downstream from Kosh- Agach is Aktash, the nearest major town of the valley on a wide river terrace. Here, leading to Novosibirsk M52 suddenly switch from the north to the southern flank of the valley and at Tschibit back. After about 100 kilometers with strong spiral Talverlauf the chuya flows near Inja in the distinctive longitudinal valley of Katun, whose indented slopes have significant river terraces. In the lower reaches the Tschujatal but almost as wide. Slightly below Inja Katun must by a narrow spiral transverse valley, which is why the highway dodging on the opposite side and in a side valley. The chuya has at the mouth at a mean discharge of 42.1 m³ / s.