ARGUN RIVER

Russian Argun, Wade-Giles romanization O-erh-ku-na Ho, Pinyin Ergun He, river rising in the Inner Mongolian autonomous ch' (region), China, on the western slope of the Greater Khingan Range, where it is known as the Hai-la-erh River. Its length is 1,007 miles (1,620 km), of which about 600 miles (965 km) form the boundary between China and Russia. The confluence of the Argun with the Shilka is regarded as the beginning of the Amur River. The Argun flows for the most part through a wide valley; it has a drainage basin of 63,000 square miles (163,000 square km). In years of abundant rainfall, the Argun overflows into the basin of Hu-lun (Mongol Dalay) Lake in Inner Mongolia. Navigation on the river is irregular.