Asia conquers with its nature, ancient culture and rich history, many unusual traditions, fine cuisine and hospitable people. It is interesting to study it even for those who are not keen on traveling. Rivers are at the center of the life of any people, therefore it is from them that it is worth starting an acquaintance with the region. The great rivers of Asia not only determine the geographical features of the region, but also affect the culture and traditions of local residents. Which of them are the most famous and significant?
Yangtze
Listing the large rivers of Asia, you should definitely start with this one. The Yangtze stretches for 6300 kilometers. The source of the legendary river is located on the Tibet Plateau. From an altitude of 5,000 meters above sea level, the Yangtze descends through the Sino-Tibetan mountains in a narrow gorge. In such areas, the river is very severe. Further, the pool is located in the Sichuan basin, and in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River passes through the Jianhang Plain and the southern part of the Great Chinese Plain. After it breaks up into several arms and flows into the sea. Monsoon rains serve as food for the pool, and in the mountainous region the waters are supplemented by melting snow and glaciers. The major tributaries of the Yangtze include such rivers of Asia as Yalongjiang, Han, Jialingjiang, Minjiang. Numerous fish inhabit the waters, which allows the inhabitants of the coast to actively engage in the fishing of carps, grass carp and silver carp. In the cold season, the upper sections of the Yangtze are covered with ice, but not for long, and only where the course is extremely calm.
The yellow river
Not all East Asian rivers are as famous as this. No wonder: the length of the Yellow River is almost 5,000 kilometers. It descends from the Tibet plateau to the desert valleys in the south. The Yellow River basin covers 700,000 square kilometers. The valley where the river flows is called by the Chinese Sin-su-hai. Here, the Yellow River is enriched with water, and it flows into Lake Tsarin-nor, already having a width of more than fifteen meters. The chain of ponds on the river's path is a natural reservoir of fresh water, which are located at 4000 meters above sea level. Eighty meters wide flows from Lake Noreen-nor Yellow River and flows through a wide valley, and then through the gorge of the Amne Machin Range. Having circled it, the river heads east to the city of Gui-duy. Six hundred and fifty kilometers, it flows along the Great Wall, and then flows into the Gulf of Zhili. Meals are provided by rains and melting snow. The tributaries are such rivers of Asia as Udinhe, Weihe and Fynhe. Chinese crab lives in the waters. The river moves at such a speed that it is practically not covered with ice, only for a couple of weeks in the middle or lower reaches in the coldest months of the year.
Ob and Irtysh
These Asian rivers flow along the eastern part of Russia. The Ob is 3650 kilometers long, and more than 5400 from the source of the Irtysh. The basin is located in the Tomsk and Tyumen regions, the Altai Territory and the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The Ob flows into the Kara Sea. You can catch many different types of fish in the waters: sterlet, sturgeon, herring, burbot, and maksun live here. For fishing, netting, nets and harpoons are used. In addition, ducks, swans and geese are hunted along the shores. The river is covered with ice already in October - in the upper and middle sections of the course, and a little later - in the lower ones. The ice cover is disappearing by May.
Mekong
The river is 4,500 kilometers long. It originates in Tibet, flows through the Chinese province of Yunnan, and then through the territory of Vietnam and Cambodia, moves to the South China Sea. Like other Asian rivers, the Mekong has an impressive pool with an area of 810 square kilometers. A distinctive feature is the frequent spills that occur during snow melt in Tibet and during heavy summer rains. The Mekong has three sleeves with many tributaries. One of them, Udong, forms Lake Tale-Sap, known for a large number of fish. The river is fed mainly by rain, but the upper reaches are also replenished with snows and glaciers. Famous tributaries are such rivers of Asia as the Moon, U, Tonle Sap, Teng and San. Residents of coastal areas are engaged in fishing for cyprinids and waterfowl.
Amur
Many, thinking about this region, recall that the largest river in Asia is the Yangtze. The foregoing Yellow River or Mekong also come to mind. But many people don’t think about Russian rivers like the Amur River. Nevertheless, its basin is located in the Asian part of the continent. In addition, Amur flows into the Sea of Japan and is one of the longest rivers in the region. Its basin occupies about two million square kilometers, and its length is more than three thousand. It is interesting that the river has different names in different sections: in the upper reaches it is Onon, then, at the confluence with Ingoda, it is Shilka and only after connection with Argun it gets the name Amur. The food comes from rains, there is little snow in these parts, so there are no spring spills. The increase in water occurs only during the seasons of showers. The largest happened in 1872, when the water was sixteen meters above the usual level. But this feature has an advantage: the river is suitable for navigation, which runs along the entire inhabited part of the Amur.
Indus
Many of Asia’s great rivers were once the cradles of civilizations. Indus is no exception and has been known in history since ancient times. Its length is 3180 kilometers. In the upper part, it feeds on melting glaciers, and in the middle and lower - precipitation and snow. The tributaries include numerous small rivers in Asia. The list includes the lesser known ones - Zanskar, Shaysk, Shigar, Gilgit, and the more famous ones - Kabul. In the waters of the Indus live a variety of fish - minnows, cupids, silver carp. It is never covered with ice. The river originates in Tibet, from where it flows northwest, flows along a valley near the Himalayan mountains, combines with several tributaries in their gorges, acquires a width of several hundred meters and flows into the Arabian Sea. The greatness of the river is provided by multiple estuaries, the exact number of which is unknown, since it changes during each flood. Interestingly, even the position of the main channel has changed, and during the last century.
Euphrates
When listing the rivers of Asia, the list of which includes world-famous names, one should not forget about the Euphrates. Together with the Tiger, he created a territory where, long before our era , civilization was already developing. The Euphrates basin is vast, densely populated now and amounts to 765 thousand square kilometers. The source of the river is located on the Armenian Highlands, which affects the nature of the course. Below the wave is much calmer. The average depth is about ten meters, and the width varies from 150 to 500 meters. Merging with the Tigris, the Euphrates forms the Shattel River, which flows into the Persian Gulf. Meals are snow and rain. Tributaries are Tohma, Hex, Belikh and Khabur. The waters are never covered with ice, even in the coldest season.