River · Russia, Kazakhstan
Ob
The Ob River winds across the flat plains of western Siberia in Russia, one of the longest rivers in Asia. It is famous for freezing over and for the huge sturgeon that live in it.
Picture credit: Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, PPOC, Library of Congress (Public domain) · User:Игоревич (Public domain) · Игоревич (Public domain) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Ob?
The river begins at Confluence of Biya and Katun rivers, Altai Mountains, Russia.
It ends in the Gulf of Ob, Kara Sea.
Along the way it passes: Mount Belukha (Katun source) → Biysk (Ob begins) → Barnaul → Kamen-na-Obi → Novosibirsk → Kolpashevo → Nizhnevartovsk → Surgut → Khanty-Mansiysk → Berezovo.
Countries on the river: Russia, Kazakhstan.
The story behind it
The Ob is formed where two rivers, the Biya and the Katun, meet near the Altai Mountains in southern Siberia. Counted together with its main tributary, the Irtysh, the Ob-Irtysh system is one of the longest rivers on the planet, though it flows so slowly across Siberia's flat plains that its waters take months to reach the Arctic Ocean. Along the way it passes vast forests and wetlands called taiga, home to elk, wolves and enormous flocks of migrating birds. In winter the Ob freezes so thick that people drive trucks straight across it, and in some spots the ice can be more than a metre deep. When spring finally arrives, the thaw can cause dramatic flooding as the ice breaks apart with a thunderous crack.
Questions children ask
How long is the Ob River?
Measured together with its main tributary, the Irtysh, the Ob-Irtysh river system is about 5,410 kilometres long, making it one of the longest rivers in the world. It flows across Siberia in Russia into the Arctic Ocean.
Does the Ob River freeze?
Yes, the Ob freezes over for much of the winter, sometimes with ice more than a metre thick. People and even trucks can travel across the frozen river until it thaws again in spring.
What animals live near the Ob River?
The Ob's surrounding taiga forests and wetlands are home to elk, wolves, foxes and migrating birds, while the river itself holds huge Siberian sturgeon, a fish that can live for decades.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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