Tumen River

Tumen River, river, forming the northeastern frontier of North Korea with China and Russia. The Tumen originates on Mount Paektu (Chinese: Baitou; 9,022 feet [2,750 metres]), the highest peak of the Changbai (Korean: Chanbaek) Mountains along the China-Korea border. It then flows with its short tributaries through narrow gorges east-northeast to Hoeryŏng, north to Onsŏng, and southeast to the Sea of Japan (East Sea). Flowing swiftly through mountainous, heavily forested districts, it is the third longest river in Korea, with a length of 324 miles (521 km); but its drainage basin is only 4,059 square miles (10,513 square km), and the plain area is formed only downstream, in the southeast. It is navigable for only 53 miles (85 km). The districts through which it flows contain mining industries. Upstream, near Musan, iron is found; in the middle course near Chongsŏng, Onsŏng, and Aoji, there is brown coal; and downstream is the country’s best district for mineral resources. Sŏnbong (Unggi), near the river’s mouth, is connected by railway to Kraskino, Russia.