Ob River

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For other uses, see Ob.

Ob River
Ob-Irtysh watershed
Origin	Altai Krai
Mouth	Kara Sea
Basin countries	Russia
Length	3,650 km (2,268 mi) from the head of the Katun River; 5,410 km (3,362 mi) from the head of the Irtysh River
Source elevation
Avg. discharge	12,500 m³/s (441,500 ft³/s)
Basin area	2,972,497 km² (1,131,273 mi²)

View of the Ob river from the Novosibirsk dam

Surgut Bridge across the Ob is the longest one-tower cable-stayed bridge in the world.

Ob River (Russian: Обь), also Obi, is a river in West Siberia, Russia, the country's fourth longest.

It is known to the Ostiaks as the As, Yag, Kolta and Yema; to the Samoyedes as the Kolta or Kuay; and to the Siberian Tatars as the Omar or Umar.

It is formed eight miles southwest of Biysk in Altai Krai, by the confluence of the Biya and the Katun. Both these streams have their origin in the Altay Mountains, the former issuing from Lake Teletskoye, the latter, 80 mi. long, bursting out of a glacier on Mount Byelukha. The Ob zigzags west and north until it reaches 55° N, where it curves round to the northwest, and again north, wheeling finally eastwards into the Gulf of Ob, a deep (600 mi.) bay of the Kara Sea of the Arctic Ocean.

The river splits up into more than one arm, especially after joining the large river Irtysh in 69° E. Originating in China, Irtysh is actually longer than Ob to their confluence. From the river-head of Irtysh to the mouth of Ob, the Ob-Irtysh river flow is the longest in Russia at 5410 km. Other noteworthy tributaries are: from the east, the Tom, the Chulym, the Ket, the Tym and the Vakh; and, from the west and south, the Vasyugan, the Irtysh (with the Ishim, the Tobol), and the Sosva.

The navigable waters within its basin reach a total length of 9300 mi. By means of the Turn, an affluent of the Tobol, it secures connection with the Ekaterinburg-Perm railway at Tyumen, and thus is linked on to the rivers Kama and Volga in the heart of Russia. Its own length is 3700 km (2260 mi), and the area of its basin 2,600,000 km² (1,125,200 mi²).

The combined Ob-Irtysh system, the second longest river system of Asia, is about 5410 km (about 3362 mi.) long. The largest river port is on Irtysh in Omsk, with a link to the Trans-Siberian Railway.

In the late 19th century, a system of canals, utilizing the Ket River, 560 mi. long in all, was built to connect the Ob with the Yenisei, but soon abandoned as being uncompetitive with the railway.

The river basin of the Ob exists mostly of steppe, taiga, swamps, tundra and semi-desert. The floodplains of the Ob are characterised by many tributaries and lakes.

The Ob is ice-bound at southern Barnaul from early in November to near the end of April, and at northern Salekhard, 100 miles above its mouth, from the end of October to the beginning of June. Its middle reaches have been navigated by steamboats since 1845.

Near Novosibirsk city there is a dam built in 1956. This dam created the largest artificial lake in Siberia called Ob Sea.

The river is used mostly for irrigation, drinking water, hydroelectric energy, and fishing.

There are more than 50 species of fish in this river.

Cities along the river include:

See also: Rivers of Russia