Onon
Onon 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
- 49.89°, 112.80°
About Onon
The Onon is a river in Mongolia and Russia. It is 1,032 kilometres (641 mi) long, and has a drainage basin of 96,200 square kilometres (37,100 sq mi).
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Onon (river) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Onon in Depth
Course
It originates at the eastern slope of the Khentii Mountains. For 298 km it flows within Mongolia, before entering the Khentei-Daur Highlands region of the Russian Far East flowing along the Stanovik Range. In its lower reaches it flows between the Mogoytuy (Могойтуйский хребет) and the Borshchovochny (Борщовочный хребет) mountain ranges. It joins with the Ingoda to form the Shilka. Its river valley forms the eastern limit of the Khentei-Daur Highlands. Its main tributaries are the Khurkhyn Gol, Borzya and Unda from the right, and the Agutsa, Kyra and Aga from the left.
The Onon—Shilka—Amur water system is one of the world's ten longest rivers, measuring 1,032 km + 560 km + 2,874 km.
In history
The upper Onon is one of the areas that are claimed to be the place where Genghis Khan was born and grew up. The seat of Genghis Khan was on the bank of river Onon.
The Secret History of the Mongols begins thus: "There came into the world a "Borte Chono" (blue-gray wolf) whose destiny was Heaven's will. His wife was a "Gua Maral" (beautiful fallow doe). They traveled across the inland sea and when they were camped near the source of the Onon River in sight of Burkhan Khaldun, their first son was born, named Bat Tsagaan."
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Onon (river) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Onon: Key Facts
| Length | 1,032 km |
|---|---|
| Average discharge | 191 m³/s |
| Drainage basin | 96,200 km² |
| Mouth | Shilka |
| Drainage system | Amur basin |
| Tributaries | Aga River, Borzya River, Unda, Kyra, Agutsa, Baldzha, Ilya, Turga |
Facts from Wikidata Q206694 (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
Onon: Quick Answers
- Where is Onon?
- Onon is located in Russia and Mongolia, at 49.8878° N, 112.7968° E.
- Are there dams on the Onon?
- No dam on the Onon is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.