The Ob is a great river, the importance of which can not be overestimated for Russia. This is an inexhaustible source of water resources, and an important transport artery, and just a huge nature reserve – both the Ob and the surrounding lands. The harsh beauty of these lands can not leave anyone indifferent.
The Ob flows from the south to the north, unlike most Russian rivers.
The Ob River is the largest in Russia. It is longer even than the Yenisei or Lena, although less full than they are.
The area of the Ob basin is striking – almost three million square kilometers. This figure is even hard to imagine. For comparison, this is about five times larger than the area of France.
All the peoples who lived on the banks of the Ob River gave their own names to this river, but in almost all cases in translation into Russian they mean “The Great River”.
In autumn and summer, at the source of the Ob River, where it is formed as a result of the confluence of two other rivers, one can observe a curious effect – the river seems striped. This effect is due to the fact that the rivers forming the Ob, carry waters of different colors, and they do not mix at once.
In the summer in the Barnaul area, the water in the Ob is warmed to 26-28 degrees, at least, its upper layers. Thus, it is quite possible to swim in the Ob in the warm season, even not to the coldest people.
In the Ob, there are about fifty different kinds of fish. The figure is rather large, although in this parameter the Ob is inferior to the Amur, in which there are almost three times as many species.
On the shores of the Ob River, there are about thirty million people – Russians, Kazakhs and Chinese.
In the widest places, the width of the Ob River reaches fifty kilometers.
During the spring floods, the water level in the Ob is significantly increased, so that in many parts of the banks of this river construction is impossible.
