Künes River

The Künes River (Uyghur: دەرياسى كۈنەس, Künəs Dəryasi), generally known in English as the Kunges River (Russian: Кунгес; Chinese: 巩乃斯河, Gǒngnǎisī Hé), is—with the Tekes River—one of the two main tributaries that form the Ili River in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.^[1] It originates in the eastern Tian Shan.

Künes Kunges
Location of the Künes River in the Lake Balkash drainage basin
Native name	دەرياسى كۈنەس (Uyghur) 巩乃斯河 (Chinese)
Location
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
County	Kunes, Nilka County, and Hejing County
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Eren Habirga Mountains
• coordinates	43°12′35″N 84°50′51″E
• elevation	3300 m
Mouth	Ili
• location	Confluence with the river Tekes
• coordinates	43°34′45″N 82°32′51″E
• elevation	786 m
Length	258 km
Basin size	3532 km2
Basin features
Progression	Ili→ Lake Balkhash
Tributaries
• left	Tsanma (Tsauman gol)
• right	Arshan, Merke (Borgustaya), Ken-su (Naryn gol, Kharkhan), Bokchurgan gol, Turgen

Künes River
View of the Künes River at Nalati
Uyghur name
Uyghur	دەرياسى كۈنەس‎
Transcriptions Latin Yëziqi Künes deryasi Yengi Yeziⱪ Künəs dəryasi SASM/GNC Künas Nahiyisi Siril Yëziqi Күнәс дәряси
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	鞏乃斯河
Simplified Chinese	巩乃斯河
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Gǒngnǎisī Hé Wade–Giles K'ung-nai-ssu Ho

Geography

The Künes or Kunges River originates in the eastern Tianshan in the Eren Habirga Mountains and flows from east to west to merge with the Tekes River and form the Ili. It flows through glacial, alpine, and grassland environments, the latter including semi-arid, dry-steppe, steppe, meadow grassland, and mountain meadow.^[2]

Tributaries

Main tributaries of the Künes River include:

• Arshan (right)
• Merke (aka Borgustaya) (right)
• Ken-su (aka Naryn gol, Kharkhan) (right)
• Bokchurgan gol (right)
• Turgen (right)
• Tsanma (Tsauman gol) (left)

Settlements

Major settlements located on the Künes River include:

• Kunes County seat

References

1. "Kunges". Great Soviet Encyclopedia (in Russian). Retrieved 24 July 2020.
2. Jie Ma; Lan H. Li; Ling P. Guo; Lei Bai; Jian R. Zhang; Zhong H. Chen; Sajjad Ahmad (2015). "Variation in soil nutrients in grasslands along the Kunes River in Xinjiang, China". Chemistry and Ecology. 31 (2): 111–122. doi:10.1080/02757540.2014.917170. S2CID 94482031.