East Manych

East Manych (Russian: Восточный Маныч) is a river in the eastern and central part of the Kuma–Manych Depression in southern Russia.

East Manych flows east through Kalmykia and along its border with the Stavropol Krai, and ends in the Sostino Lakes (Состинские озёра). According to the Russian geographers, the East Manych is 141 km long; if one were to include the usually dry sections in its lower course, the total length would be over 220 km.^[1]

The Chogray Reservoir (Чограйское водохранилище; 45°29′30″N 44°36′10″E / 45.49167°N 44.60278°E / 45.49167; 44.60278) was built on this river in 1969.^[1][2] The reservoir receives water from the Terek and Kuma Rivers via the Terek–Kuma Canal (completed 1958) and the Kuma–Manych Canal (completed 1965).^[3]

The common source

Formerly, the upper reaches of the East and West Manych were connected, at least in wet years or seasons. The Kalaus River, when reaching the thalweg of the Kuma-Manych Depression at 45°43′N 44°06′E / 45.717°N 44.100°E / 45.717; 44.100, would split: the left distributary, flowing north and then west, toward Lake Manych-Gudilo, would become the source of the West Manych, while the right distributary, flowing south and then east, would become the headwaters of the East Manych. During the 20th century, most of the water went into the eastern distributary, until it was dammed. Later, a solid dam was built at this point, preventing any water from flowing from the Kalaus into the East Manych, thus making the Kalaus the source of only the West Manych. ^[4]

References