Rivers of Altai

The Katun and Biya, which merge and form the Ob, are mountain rivers, but they differ sharply from each other. The first drops of water, from which the restless Katun River begins, rush down from Mount Belukha, from a height of 4506 m. Snow, dense snow, firn, and glacier ice are the initial stages of the "first drops" of a mountain stream, followed by a long descent down a slope or valley to the melting area, where ice crystals, snowflakes, and water droplets break down. From here they begin their breakneck run. Here, on the highest peak of the Katunsky Belki ridge, a river is born, which, near the confluence with the Biya, carries more than 600 m3 of water every second. Along the 688-kilometer route, Katun receives water from many mountain rivers, but most of all from Argut, which carries water from the glaciers of the Tabyn-Bogdo-Ola mountain range, and Chui, which collects meltwater from the glaciers of the Yuzhno-Chuisky and Severo-Chuisky ranges. Thus, the upper reaches of the Katun River itself and its two main tributaries, the Argut and the Chui, collect almost all the meltwater from the three regions of the Altai mountain glaciation. The water in the river is very cold. Even in the hot summer, not every swimmer will risk swimming. The water is rich in oxygen, as it is deeply mixed and saturated with oxygen in the frequent rapids and numerous waterfalls. In some places below the waterfalls, the bubbling water stream resembles giant cauldrons of boiling water.


Almost along its entire path, the water in the river does not just flow, but falls, dragging with it everything capable of movement: rocks, trunks of fallen trees, small debris. A huge amount of solid material gets into the Katun riverbed from glaciers and adjacent slopes. The fine-grained silt, clays, powdered marble and limestones make the river water always muddy. The Katun River and its tributaries receive the most water, and therefore do the most work during the warmer months. In summer, due to the melting of snow and glacial waters and rains, the river level rises sharply compared to the winter period. In spring and summer, the river valley is undergoing a restructuring of pebble shoals, ridges, rapids and overhanging slopes. In some places, piles of pebbles are completely demolished during the season, while in others entire fields are created from them. The Biya begins its run-up from a height of 436 m, that is, from a level that is almost 10 times lower than the Katuni tokens. It flows calmly out of Lake Teletskoye, located in a narrow, deep tectonic basin. Its length is 78 km, its width is about 5 km, and its greatest depth is 325 m. Surrounded by high ridges, often sheer to the water surface, Lake Teletskoye enjoys the fame of one of the most beautiful in the country. Hundreds of mountain streams and rivers flow into it, including such large ones as the Chulyshman. Some of them break into the lake from the coastal cliffs, as if in a hurry to get ahead of their rivals and be the first to merge with the emerald-blue waters of the lake.


At the confluence of mountain rivers, the water in the lake is always cloudy. Exhausted and tired mountain streams, once in the lake, are relatively quickly freed from the heavy load of solid particles. In Lake Teletskoye, as in a huge sedimentation tank, the water of muddy mountain rivers is purified. Even the smallest particles brought from the mountains settle to the bottom here and practically cease to participate in the life of the Biya River. And so, having rested, having splashed merrily in the wind and by the steep shores, the water of mountain rivers, now like the water of a mountain lake, rushes to the northwest. By increasing the speed of the current, the Biya forms into a typical mountain river. The fall of its riverbed for every 100 km is about 100 m. It takes a lot of experience, strength, skill and endurance to swim in Biya. At Biysk, having covered almost 300 km of the way, the river carries about 480 m3 of emerald-blue transparent water every second. Below Biysk, the clear water of Biya is met by muddy water escaping onto the Katun plain. After the confluence of the Biya and Katun, far below, already in the well-formed channel of the flat Ob River, one can see the rapid course of two different Altai rivers. The murky grey water of Katun runs along the left bank, and the bluish water of Biya runs along the right bank. Now they are already starting to do a completely different job together — the work of a flat river, which differs from the work of mountain rivers. 1xBet Bonus Code India - Sports & Casino Bonus. Use the 1xbet promo code india and get an exclusive 1xBet welcome offer of 120% up to 33,000 to 66,000 INR. T&C Apply. A promo code of 1xBet is a series of numbers and letters that you enter into a specified voucher box to get a good deal. If you want to know how to use 1xBet promo codes, you will be asked to enter it when registering as a new customer to receive a sign-up bonus.