Sabun (river)

The Sabun (Russian: Сабун) is a river in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug in Russia. It is a right-hand tributary of the westward-flowing Vakh, which it enters from the north. It is 328 kilometres (204 mi) long, and has a drainage basin of 15,700 square kilometres (6,100 sq mi).^[1]

Sabun Сабун
Mouth location in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia
Location
Country	Russia
Region	Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug
Physical characteristics
Source
• coordinates	63.125658°N 80.921516°E / 63.125658; 80.921516
Mouth	Vakh
• coordinates	61.08083°N 80.22361°E / 61.08083; 80.22361
Length	328 km (204 mi)
Basin size	15,700 km2 (6,100 sq mi)
Basin features
Progression	Vakh→ Ob→ Kara Sea

Environment

The interfluvial area between the Kolikyogan and Sabun of the west Siberian lowland is a zone of raised string bogs covering 12,885 square kilometres (4,975 sq mi). It is a status B Ramsar wetland, nominated for designation as a Wetland of International Importance in 2000.^[2] Martens are found throughout the Sabun valley, as well as sables and kidas, crosses between sables and martens.^[3]

History

In the early 1940s the inhabitants of the upper reaches of the Tolka, 500 kilometres (310 mi) to the north, were resettled by the Soviet authorities in the Sabun basin after their shamans had been arrested and executed. They brought their reindeer with them, but the reindeer could not adapt and many died. The people of the community were unable to find food in the new environment, and some starved. They were allowed to return to the Tolka after the war.^[4]