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River

Vakh

River

Vakh is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.

Feature Class
River
Coordinates
61.30°, 81.17°
7.0
Coordinates: 61.2993° N, 81.1682° ECountry: RussiaOpenStreetMap ↗

About Vakh

The Vakh (Russian: Вах) is a river in Khanty–Mansia, Russia. It is a right tributary of the Ob. The Vakh is 964 kilometres (599 mi) long with a basin area of 76,700 square kilometres (29,600 mi2).

The river is a status B Ramsar wetland, nominated for designation as a Wetland of International Importance in 2000.

Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Vakh (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Vakh in Depth

Course

Its source is near the drainage basins of the Yenisei and the Taz. Since the Vakh, like the Ket, flows from east to west, it was an important early transportation route. A short portage connects its headwaters to the Sym, which flows into the Yenisei. To the northeast lies the basin of the Vatinsky Yogan.

The Vakh's main tributaries are the Kulynigol, the Sabun, the Kolikyogan, and the Myogtygyogan.

The interfluvial area between two of the Vakh tributaries, the Kolikyogan and Sabun, is a zone of raised string bogs covering 12,885 square kilometres (4,975 sq mi).

History

Early pottery from the Vakh basin, Vasyugan and Tomsk-Chulym is dominated by comb-pit decorations.

An 1875 account of the people of the region said, "The Samoyedes of Southern Siberia are neighbours of the Youraks, and inhabit the Upper Taz, the Yelogouï, and the affluents of the Vakh river. They are pure Samoyedes as regards race."

Russians began to significantly affect the Khanty people on the Vakh river area by 1896.

These people were eking out a living by hunting, fishing and selling squirrel skins.

Moral codes began breaking down, and new infectious diseases were introduced.

There was a brief attempt to counter the problems through shamanistic ceremonies.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Vakh (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Vakh: Key Facts

Key facts about Vakh
Length964 km
Average discharge536 m³/s
Drainage basin76,700 km²
MouthOb
Drainage systemOb Basin
TributariesKolik-Egan, Kulynigol, Alsusyogan, Arigol, Asesyogan, Bol'shaya Zapornaya, Bolshoy Panas, Vakhkotpukhilyogan

Facts from Wikidata Q837201 (CC0).

Major River Dossiers

Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.

Connected Reaches

Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.

Water Bodies in the Catchment

Settlements Along the Reach

Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby

Surrounding Terrain

Vakh: Quick Answers

Where is Vakh?
Vakh is located in Russia, at 61.2993° N, 81.1682° E.
Are there dams on the Vakh?
No dam on the Vakh is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.