Where is the Taz (river)?

In the "Rivers of Russia" list, Taz occupies one of the key places. This water flow is at its third power after such West Siberian giants as the Irtysh and the Ob. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the river Taz. In this article we will talk about this important waterway of Russia. We will cover its geography, climate, hydrology. And what importance does the Taz have in the economic activity of the country, in particular in navigation? We will talk about this too. And why does the river have such a strange name? To begin with, it is not authentic. The people of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District call the Tasu Yam or Tasuyava River. Translated this name is simple and without much poetry. "Tasu" means "lower", and "Yam" (or "Yava") is a "large river". Russians living in this region call the water stream Taz. Officially this name became its name.

Where is the river Taz

The water flow covers the entire territory of Western Siberia. Its length is one thousand four hundred kilometers. And the area of the basin of the Taza is about one hundred and fifty thousand square kilometers. The river belongs to the Kara Sea basin. It flows through the Tazovsky and Krasnoselkupsky districts of the Yamal-Nenets District. A Taz is born from two nameless streams flowing from the upper marsh in the area called Siberian Uvaly. Its height is insignificant - only one hundred and thirty-nine meters above sea level. Thus, taking into account the length of the stream, the Taz is a plain river in all its sections. The total slope of it is only 0,099 m per kilometer. The river flows slowly and majestically to the Kara Sea. And it falls, branched into sleeves, into the Tazovskaya lip. Together with it the sea is supplemented by another large river, called Pur.

The climate of the area

A long stream of water crosses three natural zones: taiga, forest-tundra and palaearctic. On the Siberian Uvals, where the river Taz is born, dense spruce-larch forests predominate. The trees there reach a height of fourteen meters. As the river moves north, the vegetation acquires the features of the northern taiga. The banks cover larch-birch forests. Sometimes the plots of the taiga are strongly swamped. Such places are called ryamas. In the middle reaches of the Taz, the northern taiga is replaced by a narrow strip of forest-tundra. It is represented by bushes and dwarf trees. The lower current, up to the mouth, passes in the zone of the tundra. In the south of this climatic zone, there are still shrubs and woodlands. Then follows the subzone of mosses and lichens. And, finally, in the very north the Palearctic tundra begins. Here, if there are plants, they spread over the ground or have a pillow-like shape.

Hydrology

Taking into account the harsh climate of the area in which Taz flows, this river feeds mainly on the melting of snow. From sources, it receives only 27 percent of its water, and therefore floods in the river occur in the spring. In the upper Taz, on the Siberian Uval, this fertile time comes in the second half of April, and at the mouth - only at the end of May. The most full month is June. By September, the level in the river begins to fall. Ledostav begins in October. The river opens gradually: first in the upper reaches, and then in the mouth. This occurs in May-June. The pelvis flows along the flat terrain, therefore the river bed is meandering, often meanders, the banks are swamped. In the upper reaches, the width of the water surface reaches eighty meters. In the middle course this parameter increases to four hundred meters, and in the mouth reaches a kilometer. This broad river majestically and leisurely carries its waters to the sea. The speed of the current does not exceed half a meter per second. As for the depth, it is on average two meters in the upper reaches and 12 meters near the mouth.

Tributaries

The basin flows through a region full of streams, lakes, streams, marshes and rivers. Throughout the Siberian tributary numerous tributaries flow into the Siberian giant. To begin with, the river Taz itself is born from the confluence of two streams. They flow from the lakes of Tynil'ta and Kulyt on the Siberian Uvals. On the right hand side, the rivers Bolshaya Shirta, Russkaya, Hatil-Ky, Sail, Pyakalu-Ky, Pechalki and Khudose flow into the Taz. The most significant left tributaries are Ratta, Karalka, Pokolka, Tolka, Chaselka, Vatylka and Bolshaya Totedottejaha. The mouth of the Taz River is a few sleeves that flow into the mouth of the Kara Sea. The first significant influx (Ratta) flows into the main water artery at ninety-seventy kilometers. And the latter (Khudosey) replenishes Taz for 412 kilometers to the mouth. There are many lakes in the river basin. The largest of them are Yplkalto, Anato, Kypasylkilpyriltu, Halilto, Choncharragato, Upper Chertovo, Numto and Chaselskoe.

Economic activity and Pelvis

The river is navigable in the lower and middle reaches. The navigation site is almost eight hundred kilometers. When the river is freed from ice, ships cruise from the village of Tolka to the mouth. Basically it is freight transport of industrial equipment and building materials. In addition, in the basin of the river, natural gas deposits have been discovered and actively developed. Industrial centers are Ust-Chaselsky, South-Russian, Tazovsky and Zapolyarny settlements. Near the river bank there are about ten settlements. The largest of them are Krasnoselkup and Tazovsky. But the density of the population in these parts is low. Indigenous people live mainly in the villages: Ratta, Kikkiakki, Tolka, Peasalki, Tibeysale, Gazsale. There is an airfield in Krasnoselkup.

Ecology

In connection with the active use of the waterway for household needs, the Taz - river, which is classified by environmentalists as "very dirty" (in the upper reaches) and "extremely dirty" (in the lower reaches and in the middle reaches). The reason for this is the anthropogenic factor. After all, there is a rafting on the river, the barges are plying. On the banks of the Taz are settlements, and in its basin is mining. However, the river still has fish. True, sturgeon and nelma, which once was famous for Taz, have now become a rare catch. In the river there is an industrial fishing of whitefish, muxun, rylad, chir and peled.