Argun River (Asia)
Ergune ( Ergune bira) | |
| Argun | |
| River | |
 | |
| Name origin: Mongolian: ergene, "contrarotation" | |
| Countries | China, Russia |
|---|---|
| Russian Krai | Zabaykalsky Krai |
| Chinese Region | Inner Mongolia |
| Source | Kherlen River |
| - location | about 195 kilometres (121 mi) from Ulaanbaatar |
| - elevation | 1,961 m (6,434 ft) |
| - coordinates | 48°N 109°E / 48°N 109°E |
| Mouth | Amur river |
| Length | 1,620 km (1,007 mi) |
| Basin | 164,000 km2 (63,321 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| - average | 340 m3/s (12,007 cu ft/s) |
 | |
| Argun River (Asia) | |||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 额尔古纳河 | ||||||
| |||||||
| Mongolian name | |||||||
| Mongolian |
Ergüne gol Эргүнэ мөрөн Ergüne mörön | ||||||
| Manchu name | |||||||
| Manchu script |
| ||||||
| Romanization | Ergune bira | ||||||
| Russian name | |||||||
| Russian | Аргу́нь | ||||||
Ergune or Argun (Mongolian: Эргүнэ мөрөн, Ergüne mörön; Manchu: Ergune bira; Chinese: 额尔古纳河; pinyin: É'ěrgǔnà Hé; Russian: Аргу́нь) is the river which is a part of the Russia–China border. Its upper reaches are known as Hailar River (Chinese: 海拉尔河; pinyin: Hăilā'ěr Hé) in China. Its length is 1,621 kilometres (1,007 mi). The Ergune marks the border (established by the Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689) between Russia and China for about 944 kilometres (587 mi), until it meets the Amur River. The name derives from Buryat Urgengol 'wide river' (urgen 'wide' + gol 'river').[1]
The river flows from the Western slope of the Greater Khingan Range in Inner Mongolia. Its confluence with Shilka River at Ust-Strelka forms the Amur River.
Kherlen–Ergune–Amur
In years with high precipitation, the normally exitless Hulun Lake may overflow at its northern shore, and the water will meet the Ergune after about 30 kilometres (19 mi). The Kherlen–Ergune–Amur system has a total length of 5,052 kilometres (3,139 mi).
In The Secret History of the Mongols
In The Secret History of the Mongols is a legend related to the Ergüne hun Mongol ancestry. In this legend, the Mongols prevailed over other tribes and carried such slaughter among them, that in living remained no more than two men and two women. These two families, in fear of the enemy, fled to the inhospitable terrain, which included only mountains and forests and to which there was no road. Among those mountains was the abundant grass and healthy climate of the steppe. Then, legend tells that in Ergune-Khun, Mongols multiplied and become masters of iron smelting and blacksmithing. According to legend, it is the art of melting iron that has helped them escape from the mountain gorges on scope of the current Mongolian steppes, to the Kherlen River and Onon River.
References
- ↑ Pospelov, E.M. (1998). Geograficheskie nazvaniya mira. Moscow: Russkie slovari. p. 42.