Yenisei

views updated May 23 2018

Yenisei (Yenesey) River in central Siberia, Russia. Formed by the confluence of the Bolshoi Yenisei and the Maly Yenisei at Kyzyl, it flows for 4090km (2540mi) w then n through the Sayan Mountains and across Siberia, forming the w border of the central Siberian plateau, emptying into the Yenisei Gulf on the Kara Sea. A large hydroelectric station has been built at Krasnoyarsk. The Yenisei is a source of sturgeon and salmon. A shipping route, some of its sections are frozen in winter. When combined with the Angara (its major tributary), the Yenisei is the world's fifth-longest river, at 5550km (3445mi).