Rafting on the Ulba River

Ulba river on Kazakh Altai.

Rafting on Ulba River.

"Because of the trunks a forgotten river
Colelet spot lunar pointel.
Oh how clean, calm and light
Because of the trunks - a forgotten river!
You dark came from far away
Forget, freeze at the light cradle.
Because of the trunks, a forgotten river
Colelet spots of the lunar pointel..."

Vladislav Khodasevich. "Like a silhouette." July 19 - 20, 1907.

Traveling along rivers of East Kazakhstan.

Ulba is formed at the confluence of the fan-shaped system of rivers: Filippovka, Bystrukh, Thunder and flows in a wide valley, overgrown with mixed pine, poplar spores, flows into the Irtysh. It was here that at the beginning of the XVIII century the fortress Ust-Kamennaya, now the most beautiful modern city of Ust-Kamenogorsk, was laid during Peter I.
The Ulba River is located in the East Kazakhstan region of Kazakhstan. near the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk, the Ulba River flows into the Irtysh River (it is a right tributary). The length of the river is 100 kilometers, the area of the river basin is 4,990 km2.
The food is mixed, with a predominance of snow. The river freezes in November - December, opens in April. Average water consumption 100 m³ / sec. On the river there is a hydroelectric station of the Leninogorsk cascade.
Near the Ulba River there is an urban village of Ulba. The village is subordinate to the city administration of the city of Ridder. The unofficial name of the village is the 4th district. In the village there is a comprehensive school (11 classes), a kindergarten, a fire department, a mountain rescue unit.
There are also several shops of industrial, grocery and mixed goods, several hairdressing salons, a post office and a branch of the People's Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Ulba River Valley is located in a picturesque mountain gorge with rocky outcrops.
The course is fast, many rapids. The landscape of the floodplain varies with height. In the upper reaches gray rocks and talus prevail, just below, there are bright alpine meadows. Herbs are replaced by cedar, fir, spruce, larch, pine, willow, birch.
Vast glades are everywhere overgrown with shrubs. Where the river valley expands, meadows turn green. On the right tributary of Ulba - the Tikhaya River - the city of Ridder (former Leninogorsk) is located - a large center of mining and non-ferrous metallurgy in the East Kazakhstan region.
In the upper reaches of the Ulba, at the foot of the Ivanovo ridge, a hydroelectric power station was built, next to which there is an urban-type settlement (Ulba), a railway station, the mines of the Ridder mining and processing complex (the former Leninogorsk Polymetallic Combine), and a woodworking plant.
On Ulba, you can make water trips with a length of 90 to 100 kilometers, the second category of complexity. The duration of the alloy is from one to five days. Seasonality - May-August. The starting point of the route is Tishinka station, to which tourists can get from Ust-Kamenogorsk by rail.
During floods and summer rains, the level of Ulba increases significantly. A kilometer from the station, the river is divided into several channels. All sleeves are quite rugged.

The Ulba River Valley near Ust-Kamenogorsk. Photograph of the late XIXth century. Ulba river and environs.