A great free-flowing river forming much of the border between Russia and China.
Length
2,824 km
Source
Mountains of northeast China
Mouth
Sea of Okhotsk / Tatar Strait
Continent
Asia
Countries
Russia & China
Did you know?
The Amur is one of the longest undammed rivers in the world, letting fish migrate freely along its whole length.
Little-known fact
It is home to the kaluga, a giant sturgeon that can grow over 5 m long and live for decades.
Highlights
- Forms the Russia-China border
- One of the longest undammed rivers
- Home to the giant kaluga sturgeon
Life in the Amur
The fish and animals, waterbirds and water plants — including some of the rarest — that this water supports.
Animals & fish
Beluga sturgeon
A giant armoured fish that can live over 100 years and yields the world’s most prized caviar.
Northern pike
A long, torpedo-shaped ambush predator that lurks among weeds across the cool rivers and lakes of the north.
Waterbirds
Common kingfisher
A dazzling blue-and-orange dart that plunges from a perch to spear fish in an instant.
Grey heron
A patient, statue-still angler that stalks the shallows of rivers and lakes across the Old World.
Interactive · 3D journey
Journey of a river · source → sea
Every river runs the same great journey — from an icy mountain spring, down through gorges and looping meanders, to a wide delta where it meets the sea. Tap a stage to follow the water downstream.
Tip: hover to tilt the valley · tap a stage to float downstream
The Source
Every river begins high up — in a mountain spring, a melting glacier or a boggy upland. The water is cold, clear and fast, tumbling down the steepest ground of its whole journey.
Landforms here