Ulungur River

The Ulungur River / Urungu River or Urungu (Mongolian: Өрөнгө гол, romanized: Öröngö Gol, Chinese: 乌伦古河; pinyin: Wūlúngǔ hé), in its upper reaches in Mongolia known as the Bulgan River (Mongolian: Булган гол), is a river of China and Mongolia. It rises in the Altai Mountains in western Mongolia, flows south into China's Xinjiang (Altay Prefecture), where it turns north-west to empty into the Ulungur Lake. It is about 700 km long.

Ulungur River
Simplified Chinese	乌伦古河
Transcriptions

The Bulgan River

The Irtysh–Karamay Canal crosses the Ulungur River at 46°36′15″N 87°56′52″E, on an aqueduct.

Geological history

In the early Quaternary, the Ulungur (as well as the upper Irtysh) flowed into the Dzungarian Basin, terminating in a large lake (the "Old Manas Lake") in the region of today's Lake Manas. Later tectonic movements redirected the Ulungur onto its current course.^[1]

Wildlife

The Sino-Mongolian beaver, Castor fiber birulai, is found only in the basin of the Ulungur River. The population is considered endangered. The Bulgan Beaver Nature Reserve (Chinese: 布尔根河河狸自然保护区; 46°12′00″N 90°45′00″E) has been established on the Bulgan River (a tributary of the Ulungur River) in Qinggil (Qinghe) County in 1980 to protect the creatures.^[2][3]