Editing Amur (section)

==Course==
The river rises in the hills in the western part of [[Northeast China]] at the confluence of its two major affluents, the [[Shilka (river)|Shilka]] and the [[Argun (Amur)|Argun (or Ergune)]], at an elevation of {{convert|303|m|ft}}.<ref>Source elevation derived from [[Google Earth]]</ref> It flows east forming the border between China and Russia, and slowly makes a great arc to the southeast for about {{convert|400|km|mi}}, receiving many tributaries and passing many small towns. At Huma, it is joined by a major tributary, the [[Huma River (Heilongjiang)|Huma He]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lasserre |first1=Frédéric |title=The Amur River border. Once a symbol of conflict, could it turn into a water resource stake? |journal=Cybergeo |date=27 June 2003 |doi=10.4000/cybergeo.4141 |url=https://journals.openedition.org/cybergeo/4141?lang=es |access-date=29 November 2023|doi-access=free |hdl=20.500.11794/790 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Afterwards it continues to flow south until, between the cities of [[Blagoveshchensk]] in Russia and [[Heihe]] in China, it widens significantly as it is joined by one of its most important tributaries the [[Zeya (river)|Zeya]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mao |first1=Dehua |last2=Tian |first2=Yanlin |last3=Wang |first3=Zongming |last4=Jia |first4=Mingming |last5=Du |first5=Jia |last6=Song |first6=Changchun |title=Wetland changes in the Amur River Basin: Differing trends and proximate causes on the Chinese and Russian sides |journal=Journal of Environmental Management |date=15 February 2021 |volume=280 |pages=111670 |doi=10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111670 |pmid=33218828 |bibcode=2021JEnvM.28011670M |s2cid=227100672 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301479720315954 |access-date=29 November 2023 |issn=0301-4797}}</ref>

The Amur arcs to the east and turns southeast again at the confluence with the [[Bureya (river)|Bureya]], then does not receive another significant tributary for nearly {{convert|250|km|mi}} before its confluence with its largest tributary, the [[Songhua River|Songhua]], at [[Tongjiang, Heilongjiang|Tongjiang]]. At the confluence with the Songhua the river turns northeast, now flowing towards [[Khabarovsk]], where it joins the [[Ussuri]] and ceases to define the Russia–China border. Now the river spreads out dramatically into a [[Braided stream|braided]] character, flowing north-northeast through a wide valley in eastern Russia, passing [[Amursk]] and [[Komsomolsk-on-Amur]]. The valley narrows after about {{convert|200|km|mi}} and the river again flows north onto plains at the confluence with the [[Amgun]]. Shortly after, the Amur turns sharply east and into an [[estuary]] at [[Nikolayevsk-on-Amur]], about {{convert|20|km|mi}} downstream of which it flows into the [[Strait of Tartary]].<ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Amur (River) |display=Amur |volume=1 |page=899}}</ref>

During years with heavy precipitation, the Amur river system is connected with the [[Kherlen]] river. The normally exit−less [[endorheic lake]] [[Hulun Lake]], into which [[Kherlen]] flows, will overflow at its northern shore through the [[Arroyo (watercourse)|arroyo]] of Mutnaya Protoka, and the water will meet the Argun River (Ergune) after about {{convert|30|km|mi|0}}. The Amur Basin of the [[Kherlen River|Kherlen]]−[[Argun (Amur)|Argun]]−Amur River system has a total length of {{cvt|5,052|km|mi|abbr=on}} to its river mouth on the [[Sea of Okhotsk]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://amur-heilong.net/http/01_climate_waters/0114westernheadwaters.html|title = Untitled Document}}</ref>