Ulungur River

The Ulungur River or Urungu (Mongolian: Булган гол, romanized: Öröngö Gol, Chinese: 乌伦古河; pinyin: Wūlúngǔ hé), in its upper reaches in Mongolia known as the Bulgan River (Mongolian: Булган гол), is a river of China and Mongolia. It rises in the Altai Mountains in western Mongolia, flows south into China's Xinjiang (Altay Prefecture), where it turns north-west to empty into the Ulungur Lake. It is about 700 km long.

The Bulgan River

The Irtysh–Karamay Canal crosses the Ulungur River at 46°36′15″N 87°56′52″E, on an aqueduct.

Geological history

In the early Quaternary, the Ulungur (as well as the upper Irtysh) flowed into the Dzungarian Basin, terminating in a large lake (the "Old Manas Lake") in the region of today's Lake Manas. Later tectonic movements redirected the Ulungur onto its current course.[1]

Wildlife

The Sino-Mongolian beaver, Castor fiber birulai, is found only in the basin of the Ulungur River. The population is considered endangered. The Bulgan Beaver Nature Reserve (Chinese: 布尔根河河狸自然保护区; 46°12′00″N 90°45′00″E) has been established on the Bulgan River (a tributary of the Ulungur River) in Qinggil (Qinghe) County in 1980 to protect the creatures.[2][3]

Notes
  1. Yao, Yonghui; Li, Huiguo (2010), "Tectonic geomorphological characteristics for evolution of the Manas Lake", Journal of Arid Land, 2 (3): 167–173
  2. Hongjun Chua and Zhigang Jianga, Distribution and conservation of the Sino-Mongolian beaver Castor fiber birulai in China. Oryx / Volume 43 / Issue 02 / April 2009, pp 197-202
  3. Riley, Alex (28 July 2016). "Extinct giant beavers made corkscrews instead of dams". BBC Earth. Retrieved 29 July 2016.


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