Angara

Angara (äng'gərä`, Rus. ŭn'gərä`), river, c.1,150 mi (1,850 km) long, SE Siberian Russia, the outlet of Lake Baykal. After leaving the southwestern end of Lake Baykal, it flows north past Irkutsk and Bratsk, then turns west after receiving the Ilim River and flows into the Yenisei River near Strelka. Below its junction with the Ilim River the Angara is known also as the Upper Tunguska (Rus. Verkhnyaya Tunguska).

The Angara is navigable between Irkutsk and Bratsk; below Bratsk there are many rapids. At Bratsk is a large dam with one of the world's largest hydroelectric power plants (c.4.5 million kW); a smaller hydroelectric station is at Irkutsk. Two other dams span the river, making it one of the world's greatest sources of hydroelectric power. Iron, coal, and gold deposits are found in the Angara basin, and aluminum and pulp are processed.

The

Upper Angara River (Rus. Verkhnyaya Angara), c.200 mi (320 km) long, rises NE of Lake Baykal and flows SW through the Buryat Republic into the lake; it is partly navigable.

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Angara

a river in S Russia, in Siberia, flowing from Lake Baikal north and west to the Yenisei River: important for hydroelectric power. Length: 1840 km (1150 miles)

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Angara 

(lower reaches formerly called Verkniaia Tunguska), a river in Irkutsk Oblast and Krasnoiarsk Krai, RSFSR, a right-bank tributary of the Enisei. Its length is 1,779 km (1,826 km before the construction of the Irkutsk and Bratsk reservoirs). The area of the basin is 1,039,000 sq km, of which 468,000 sq km is the Angara basin proper (without the basin of Lake Baikal). The river originates from Lake Baikal and flows first north, then west. The construction of the Irkutsk and Bratsk hydroelectric power plants has made the upper reaches of the Angara practically a reservoir. The river forms the headwater of the Irkutsk Hydroelectric Power Plant over a stretch of 56 km and is the main part of the Bratsk Reservoir over a stretch of 524 km measuring from the mouth of the Tel’minka River. Between the two reservoirs (85 km long), the valley is asymmetrical in structure; the left bank is high and steep and the right bank gently sloped. The riverbed is 1.5–2 km wide and divided by numerous islands. Between Bratsk and the mouth of Irkineeva River (265 km), the Angara flows through a region of traps; the river valley is beaded and its width varies from 0.8–1.5 km to 3–5 km; in some parts there are high bluffs, rapids (Dolgii, Shamanskii, Murskii, and others), and numerous shoals. At the mouth of the river, where it crosses the Enisei Ridge, it forms the Strelka rapids; the width of the valley here is up to 3–5 km (up to 10 km near Motygino). Angara’s main tributaries are the Ilim, Chadobets, and Irkineeva rivers on the right and the Irkut, Kitoi, Belaia, Oka, Iia, and Taseeva rivers on the left. The water regime of the Angara is regulated by Lake Baikal and the reservoirs. The sources of water supply, besides the lake, are snow and rain. The average annual discharge is 1,700 cu m/sec at the Irkutsk Hydroelectric Power Plant, 2,900 cu m/sec at the Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Plant, and 4,500 cu m/sec near the mouth. The river freezes between late October and the first half of November in the lower reaches and in November-December at the Bratsk Reservoir. At the source of the river, around the rapids, and along the tail water of the hydroelectric plant, polynyas are scattered over dozens of kilometers. Characteristic of the Angara are ice sludges, occurring in the fall, and mighty ice jams. The ice melts in the first half of May. There is no spring high water above the Ilim. The Irkutsk and Bratsk hydroelectric power plants operate on the Angara, the Ust’-Ilimsk Hydroelectric Power Plant is under construction (1969), and the Boguchany and other hydroelectric power plants are being designed. There is regular navigation between Irkutsk and Baikal and up to the Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Plant. The main landing areas are at Irkutsk, Angarsk, Balagansk, and Bratsk. Fish is abundant in the Angara and includes sterlet, sturgeon, grayling, white salmon, dace, and burbot.

A. M. GAVRILOV