Ob

Ob, or OBI, the great river of Western Siberia, rises in two branches, the Biya and the Katun, both of which have their origin in the Altai Mountains, within the frontier of the Chinese dominions; and flows north-west and north for 2120 miles to the great Gulf of Ob in the Arctic Ocean. Its chief tributaries are the Irtish, Tcharysh, Tom, and Tchulym, all navigable. On the banks of the Ob are Barnaul, Tomsk, and Narym. At present only a few steamers ply on the great water-system of the Ob, which nevertheless seems destined to become a great commercial thoroughfare. The explorations of Professor Nordenskiöld, but more especially the tentative voyages of Captain Wiggins in 1874 and 1876, from Dundee through the Kara Sea to the Gulf of Ob, repeated in later years, have proved the feasibility of this direct route, and the accessibility of the great navigation system of the Siberian river to west European commerce.