Tunguska

Tunguska (toon-gOOs'ku) [key], name of three eastern tributaries of the Yenisei River, Siberian Russia. The rivers cut across the swampy forests of E central Siberia, draining the Tunguska Basin. Furthest north is the Lower Tunguska,. Rus. Nizhnyaya Tunguska (nyēzh'nyīŭ toon-gOOs'ku) [key], c.1,590 mi (2,600 km) long. It rises in the Central Siberian Plateau N of Lake Baykal and flows past Tura to join the Yenisei at Turukhansk. Flowing generally west, it is navigable (May–October) for c.1,100 mi (1,770 km). The Stony Tunguska,. Rus. Podkamennaya Tunguska (pŭtkä'myinīŭ toon-gOOs'ku) [key], c.980 mi (1,580 km) long, rises west of the headwaters of the Lower Tunguska. It flows generally NW past Baykit; there are rapids in its lower course. Upper Tunguska,. Rus. Verkhnyaya Tunguska (verk'nyuyu toon-gOOs'ku) [key], is the name given to the lower course of the Angara River. It flows generally west and joins the Yenisei at Strelka. The area of the three rivers is the home of the Tungus.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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