Orkhon River

Headwaters of the river Orkhon

The Orkhon River at Kharkhorin

The Orkhon on the road from Darkhan to Erdenet

The Orkhon on the road from Darkhan to Erdenet

The Orkhon River (Mongolian Орхон, sometimes Orkhon ) is a 1124 km long, south-west or right-side tributary of the Selenga ( Selenge ) in northern Mongolia (Asia), while the longest river in Mongolia.

Geography

Course

The Orkhon River rises in the center of Mongolia approximately on the border of Archangai aimag to aimag Öwörchangai. Its source is in the eastern part of the Khangai Mountains at Mount Suwraga - Chair Chan ( 3179 m) in the Khangai Nuruu National Park.

Initially, the flow in the Öwörchangai Aimag runs southeast to consult shortly thereafter to the northeast and then north, where it flows to the Tamir. A little later, he proposes a easterly direction, where it flows into large coils in Bulgan aimag. Then he reached the Selenge Aimag and runs somewhat after confluence of the Tuul by the Darkhan - Uul lying in this aimag and then again by the Selenge Aimag, in which he turns to the northeast.

Shortly before the Russian border flows of Orkhon directly below Sükhbaatar in the Selenga ( Selenge ), the predominantly north- northeastward from there running flow to the Lake Baikal.

Inflows

The most important tributary of the Orkhon is the Tuul covering the southeastern catchment area to Ulaanbaatar. It is at the mouth although significantly smaller than the Orchon surpasses these however in length. Although the length specification of 819 km certainly does not include all the turns, so that the river system of the Orkhon with the 340 km above leading- Tuul is about 1160 km long.

  • Sarin ( Сарин гол )
  • Choid Tamir ( Хойд Тамир гол )
  • Tamir ( Тамирын гол )
  • Tuul ( Туул гол )
  • Charaa ( Хараа гол )
  • Scharyn ( Жарын гол )
  • Jero ( Еро гол )
  • Eröö ( Эрөө гол )

Towns

The villages on the Orkhon include:

  • Kharkhorin ( Karakorum )
  • Bulgan
  • Erdenet ( 40 km distance)
  • Darkhan ( 40 km distance)
  • Sükhbaatar

Hydrography, Hydrology and ice

The catchment area of ​​the Orkhon is approximately 132,835 km ². This area was mythological and administrative core area of the Turkic peoples of Central Asia and is today the economic core area of Mongolia, which is also reflected in the waste water load.

In early November, ice forms on the Orkhon, which gradually freezes over completely. In the spring thaw, usually from mid-May to strong floods form. This extremely different average monthly outflows arise: the average discharge in July is at the mouth of the 80 - to 90 - times the average value in February. With its water flow of 96.0 m³ / s it is at its mouth at Sükhbaatar only slightly smaller than the Selenga.

Cultural History

A 1220 km ² large area of ​​the Orkhon Valley was included by UNESCO in 1994 in the list of sites of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. A place over ten years of management plan for the protection and development of the region was launched with the support of the German World Heritage Foundation.

The most important historical sites along the Orkhon are as follows:

  • For Turcologists the banks of the Orkhon have an extraordinary importance, as they host royal chronological record of the first Turkish Empire from the 8th century in the form of inscriptions on memorial stones in several old Turkish writing. The kingdom of the Turk went down 744, after which the empire of the Uighur uprising.
  • The ruins of Char Balga, capital of the Uyghur in the 8th century, with traces of the palace and temples, monasteries, trading houses (etc.),
  • The ruins of the Mongol capital Karakorum in the 13th century near the present-day Kharkhorin
  • Erdene Dsuu at Karakorum, which was founded in 1586 as the first Buddhist monastery in Mongolia, and
  • The monastery Töwchön Chiid that the upper reaches of the Orkhon on the mountain Schiret Ulaan Uul (2600 m) is.
  • There is also along the Orkhon many even older tombs, some of which are attributed to the Huns, but partly also much older origin.

After the river are named

After the Orkhon river are named:

  • The Orkhon aimag, one located around the city of Erdenet Province of Mongolia, although it does not touch its territory, but just barely flows past it,
  • Several Sum ( administrative districts ) of the same name in different aimags of Mongolia and
  • The Orkhon runes, a Turkish font from the 7th century.
Selenga River Angara River Tuul River Kharaa River Darkhan (city) Arkhangai Province Bulgan Province Darkhan-Uul Province Bulgan (city) Annals Sum (country subdivision)
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