Ural River

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This article is about a river. For other uses, see Ural.
Ural River
Map of the Ural River watershed
Map of the Ural River watershed
Origin Russia
Mouth Caspian Sea
Basin countries Russia, Kazakhstan
Length 2,428 km (1,509 mi)
Source elevation  
Avg. discharge 400 m³/s
Basin area 231,000 km² (89,190 mi²)

The Ural (Russian: Урал, Kazakh: Жайық, Jayıq or Zhayyq), known as Yaik before 1775, is a river flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan. It arises in the southern Ural Mountains and ends at the Caspian Sea. Its total length is 1,509 mi (2,428 km). It forms part of the traditional boundary between Europe and Asia.

The Ural river as seen from a plane between Uralsk and Atyrau, Kazakhstan. The left side (on the picture) of the river is Asian, the right is European
The Ural river as seen from a plane between Uralsk and Atyrau, Kazakhstan. The left side (on the picture) of the river is Asian, the right is European

It arises on the eastern side of the Ural Mountains, that run through eastern Kazakhstan, flows south through Magnitogorsk, and around the southern end of the Urals, through Orsk where it turns west for about 300 km, to Orenburg, when the Sakmara River joins. From Orenburg it continues west, passing into Kazakhstan, then turning south again at Oral, and meandering through a broad flat plain until it reaches the Caspian at Atyrau.

Tributaries, in order going upstream:

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