Emba
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Emba - Jembi - Shem Ембі, Жем |
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 Course of the Emba and Ural rivers |
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| Data | ||
| location | Aqtöbe , Atyrau ( Kazakhstan ) | |
| River system | Emba | |
| source | northeast of Emba in the Mugodschar Mountains 49 ° 10 ′ 0 ″ N , 58 ° 45 ′ 0 ″ E |
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| muzzle | in the Caspian Sea Coordinates: 46 ° 37 '42 " N , 53 ° 19' 2" E 46 ° 37 '42 " N , 53 ° 19' 2" E |
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| Mouth height |
28 m below sea level
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| length | 712 km | |
| Catchment area | 40,400 km² | |
| Drainage location: 152 km above the mouth |
MQ |
17.5 m³ / s |
| Small towns | Emba | |
| The river only reaches its mouth during floods | ||
The Emba ( Kazakh Ембі Jembi or Жем Schem ; Russian Эмба Emba ) is a 712 km long river in western Kazakhstan .
The Emba has its source in the Mugodschar Mountains in Kazakhstan and flows southwest through the Ustyurt Plateau into the Caspian Sea . The river crosses the Aqtöbe and Atyrau regions . The Emba only reaches the Caspian Sea when the river is in high water . In the 18th century the water was still navigable. The catchment area of the Emba covers around 40,400 km². In the lower third of the river's course, the river crosses an area with saline geological layers, which leads to an increased salinity of the water. The oil and gas- rich Emba field is located on the lower reaches of the river .
Border between Europe and Asia
For some experts, the Emba river represents the border between Asia and Europe. This was first suggested by the Swedish officer and cartographer Philip Johan von Strahlberg .
The preliminary results of an expedition of the Russian Geographical Society in Kazakhstan carried out in April / May 2010 have shown that the demarcation between Europe and Asia along the Urals and the Emba does not have an adequate scientific basis. The problem is that the Southern Urals deviates from its axis and is divided into several parts. The mountains gradually flatten out and lose their importance as a geographical boundary. It makes little sense to assume the Ural and Emba rivers as a further border to the south, as the terrain is similar on both sides. The rivers do not divide living and economic areas either.
As a result of the expedition it was proposed: the southern part of the border extends from the Urals to the Mugodschar Mountains ( Kazakhstan , Aktobe region ), then along the southern edge of the Caspian Depression , where the Eastern European Plain ends. The Caspian Depression was formed millions of years ago when the Caspian Sea washed away the western slopes of the Ustyurt Plateau . According to scientists, this edge of geological formations should be considered the border between Europe and Asia.
Remarks
According to Alexander von Humboldt , the Emba already appears in a script by Menander Protektor , a Byzantine author, in a corrupt form as the river I ( Greek Ἴχ ).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Article Emba in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (BSE) , 3rd edition 1969–1978 (Russian)
- ↑ Urals - Europe-Asia border / Урал - граница Европы и Азии (Russian)
- ↑ Menander Protector: Hist. Legacy. Barbarorum ad Romanos. ed. Niebuhr, Bonn 1829, S. 300. Compare Alexander von Humboldt: Central Asia: Investigations on the mountain ranges and the comparative climatology. Berlin 1844, p. 466ff, digitized