The
Lena is the easternmost of the three great
SiberiaSiberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
n
riverA river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
s that flow into the Arctic Ocean (the other two being the
Ob RiverThe Ob River , also Obi, is a major river in western Siberia, Russia and is the world's seventh longest river. It is the westernmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean .The Gulf of Ob is the world's longest estuary.-Names:The Ob is known to the Khanty people as the...
and the
Yenisei RiverYenisei , also written as Yenisey, is the largest river system flowing to the Arctic Ocean. It is the central of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean...
). It is the
11th longest river in the world and has the 9th largest
watershedA drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
. It is the greatest
RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n river with its watershed entirely within national ranges.
Course
Rising at the height of 1640 metres (5,381 ft) at its source
Baikal Mountainsthumb|right|300px|The mountains and lake in the summer, as seen from [[Bolshiye Koty]] on the southwest shoreThe Baikal Mountains or Baikal Range rise steeply over the northwestern shore of Lake Baikal in southern Siberia, Russia...
south of the
Central Siberian PlateauThe Central Siberian Plateau is made up of sharply demarcated surfaces of varying altitudes occupying most of Siberia between the Yenisei and Lena rivers. It extends over an area of 3.5 million km². The highest point is the Putoran Mountains rising to 1701 m. To the north of the plateau are...
, 7 kilometres (4 mi) west of
Lake BaikalLake Baikal is the world's oldest at 30 million years old and deepest lake with an average depth of 744.4 metres.Located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, it is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the...
, the Lena flows northeast, being joined by the
Kirenga RiverKirenga River is a river in Irkutsk Oblast in Russia, a right tributary of the Lena which flows north between the upper Lena and Lake Baikal. The length of the river is 746 km. The area of its basin is 46,600 km². The Kirenga River freezes up in the late October - early November and...
,
Vitim RiverVitim River is a major tributary of the Lena River. With its source east of Lake Baikal, the Vitim flows 1,978 km north through the Transbaykalian Mountains and the town of Bodaybo. The river peaks in June and freezes from November to May. It is navigable from the Lena to Bodaybo. Upstream,...
and
Olyokma RiverThe Olyokma River is a tributary of the Lena in eastern Siberia. To the west is the Vitim River, to the south the Shilka River and Amur River and to the east, the upper Aldan River. Its right branch, the Tungur River, leads to a portage to the Shilka. Yerofey Khabarov used this route to travel...
. From
YakutskWith a subarctic climate , Yakutsk is the coldest city, though not the coldest inhabited place, on Earth. Average monthly temperatures range from in July to in January. The coldest temperatures ever recorded on the planet outside Antarctica occurred in the basin of the Yana River to the northeast...
it enters the lowlands and flows north until joined by its right-hand affluent the
Aldan RiverThe Aldan River is the second-longest tributary of the Lena River in the Sakha Republic in eastern Siberia. The river is 2,273 km long, of which around 1,600 km is navigable. It was part of the River Route to Okhotsk...
. The
Verkhoyansk Rangethumb|right|The Verkhoyansk Range is the L-shaped area east of the LenaThe Verkhoyansk Range is a mountain range of eastern Siberia, spanning ca. 1000 km , across the Sakha Republic. It forms a vast arc between the Lena and Aldan rivers to the west and the Yana River to the east. It rises to ca....
deflects it to the north-west; then, after receiving its most important left-hand tributary, the Vilyuy River, it makes its way nearly due north to the
Laptev SeaThe Laptev Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the northern coast of Siberia, the Taimyr Peninsula, Severnaya Zemlya and the New Siberian Islands. Its northern boundary passes from the Arctic Cape to a point with co-ordinates of 79°N and 139°E, and ends at the Anisiy...
, a division of the
Arctic OceanThe Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...
, emptying south-west of the
New Siberian IslandsThe New Siberian Islands are an archipelago, located to the North of the East Siberian coast between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea north of the Sakha Republic....
by the Lena Delta - 30000 square kilometres (11,583 sq mi) in area, and traversed by seven principal branches, the most important being
BykovBykov , or Bykova , is a common Russian last name and may refer to:-People:* Anatoly Bykov, a Russian businessman* Boris Bykov , a Soviet intelligence officer* Dmitrii L'vovich Bykov , a Russian writer...
, farthest east.
Basin
The total length of the river is estimated at 4400 km (2,734 mi). The area of the Lena river basin is calculated at 2490000 square kilometres (961,394 sq mi). Gold is washed out of the sands of the Vitim and the Olyokma, and
mammothA mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of Elephantidae, the family of elephants and mammoths, and close relatives of modern elephants. They were often equipped with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair...
tusks have been dug out of the delta. The Lena has the unusual distinction of appearing to be the longest river in the world (if the longer Yenisey is not counted) when viewed on a map using a
Mercator projectionThe Mercator projection is a cylindrical map projection presented by the Belgian geographer and cartographer Gerardus Mercator, in 1569. It became the standard map projection for nautical purposes because of its ability to represent lines of constant course, known as rhumb lines or loxodromes, as...
, the most common method of displaying the spherical earth on a flat surface, due to that projection's tendency to exaggerate the size of areas near the poles (the longer Amazon and Nile rivers both cross the equator.)
Tributaries
The
Kirenga RiverKirenga River is a river in Irkutsk Oblast in Russia, a right tributary of the Lena which flows north between the upper Lena and Lake Baikal. The length of the river is 746 km. The area of its basin is 46,600 km². The Kirenga River freezes up in the late October - early November and...
flows north between the upper Lena and Lake Baikal. The
Vitim RiverVitim River is a major tributary of the Lena River. With its source east of Lake Baikal, the Vitim flows 1,978 km north through the Transbaykalian Mountains and the town of Bodaybo. The river peaks in June and freezes from November to May. It is navigable from the Lena to Bodaybo. Upstream,...
drains the area northeast of Lake Baikal. The
Olyokma RiverThe Olyokma River is a tributary of the Lena in eastern Siberia. To the west is the Vitim River, to the south the Shilka River and Amur River and to the east, the upper Aldan River. Its right branch, the Tungur River, leads to a portage to the Shilka. Yerofey Khabarov used this route to travel...
flows north. The
Amga RiverAmga River is a river in Sakha , Russia. It is the biggest tributary of the Aldan River, which it joins a few miles west of Khandyga. The length of the river is . The area of its basin is 69,300 km². The Amga River freezes up in the first half of October and stays under the ice until May....
makes a long curve southeast and parallel to the Lena and flows into the Aldan. The
Aldan RiverThe Aldan River is the second-longest tributary of the Lena River in the Sakha Republic in eastern Siberia. The river is 2,273 km long, of which around 1,600 km is navigable. It was part of the River Route to Okhotsk...
makes similar curve southeast of the Aldan and flows into the Lena north of Yakutsk. The
Maya RiverMaya River is a river in Khabarovsk Krai and Sakha, Russia. It is a right tributary of the Aldan River of the Lena basin. The length of the river is 1053 km. The area of its basin 171,000 km². The Maya River freezes up in late October and stays under the ice until May. The Yudoma River is one of...
, a tributary of the Aldan, drains an area almost to the Sea of Okhotsk. The T-shaped Chona-Vilyuy River system drains most of the area to the west.
History
The majority of researchers believe that the name of the river Lena has been acquired from the original
Even-EvenkThe Evenks are a Tungusic people of Northern Asia. In Russia, the Evenks are recognized as one of the Indigenous peoples of the Russian North, with a population of 35,527...
name
Elyu-Ene, which means "the Large River".
According to folktales related a century after the fact, in the years 1620-23 a party of Russian fur hunters under the leadership of
Demid PyandaDemid Sofonovich Pyanda or, according to some sources, Panteley Demidovich Pyanda , also spelled Penda was among the first and most important Russian explorers of Siberia...
sailed up
Lower TunguskaNizhnyaya Tunguska — is a river in Siberia, Russia, flows through the Irkutsk Oblast and the Krasnoyarsk Krai. The river is a right tributary of the Yenisei joining it at Turukhansk . Settlements on the river include Tura, Yukti and Simenga...
, and discovered the proximity of Lena and either carried their boats there or built new ones. In 1623 Pyanda explored some 2400 kilometers of the river from its upper rocky part to its wide flow in the central
Yakutia. In 1628 Vasily Bugor and ten men reached the Lena, collected
yasakYasak or yasaq, sometimes iasak, is a Turkic word for "tribute" that was used in Imperial Russia to designate fur tribute exacted from the indigenous peoples of Siberia.- Origin :...
from the natives and founded Kirinsk in 1632. In 1631 the voyevoda of Yeniseisk sent
Pyotr BeketovPyotr Beketov was a prominent Cossack explorer of Siberia and founder of many cities such as Yakutsk, Chita, and Nerchinsk.Beketov started his military service as a guardsman in 1624 and was sent to Siberia in 1627. He was appointed Enisei voevoda and proceeded on his first voyage in order to...
and twenty men to found an
ostrogOstrog was a Russian term for a small fort, typically wooden and often non-permanently manned. Ostrogs were encircled by 4-6 metres high palisade walls made from sharpened trunks. The name derives from the Russian word строгать , "to shave the wood". Ostrogs were smaller and exclusively military...
at
YakutskWith a subarctic climate , Yakutsk is the coldest city, though not the coldest inhabited place, on Earth. Average monthly temperatures range from in July to in January. The coldest temperatures ever recorded on the planet outside Antarctica occurred in the basin of the Yana River to the northeast...
(founded in 1632). From Yakutsk other expeditions spread out to the south and east. The Lena delta was reached in 1633.
Baron Eduard Von Toll, accompanied by Alexander von Bunge, carried out an expedition to the Lena delta area and the islands of New Siberia on behalf of the Russian Imperial Academy of Sciences in 1885. They explored the Lena delta with its multitude of arms that flow towards the Polar sea. Then in spring 1886 they investigated the
New Siberian IslandsThe New Siberian Islands are an archipelago, located to the North of the East Siberian coast between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea north of the Sakha Republic....
and the
Yana RiverThe Yana River , is a river in Sakha in Russia, located between the Lena to the west and the Indigirka to the east.It is 872 km in length. The area of its basin is 238,000 km², whilst its annual discharge totals approximately . Most of this discharge occurs in May and June as the ice on the...
and its tributaries. During one year and two days the expedition covered 25,000 km, of which 4,200 km were up rivers, carrying out geodesic surveys en route.
Vladimir Ilyich UlyanovVladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
took his alias,
Lenin, from the river Lena, possibly because he was exiled to the Central Siberian Plateau.
Along the Lena
In the
upper section west and northwest of Lake Baikal the river flows mostly north. 4400:.
A small lake in the Baikal Range, in the Baikal-Lena Reserve, 10 km west of
Lake BaikalLake Baikal is the world's oldest at 30 million years old and deepest lake with an average depth of 744.4 metres.Located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, it is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the...
, 1800m in altitude. The Lena flows north 19 km, losing 600m in altitude and becomes passable by rafts. It turns west and then south losing another 600 meters in 128 km, to Chanchur, where there is a ranger station. 4222: Kachug: start of navigation, road to
IrkutskIrkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
. 4197:Verkholensk:mouth of the Kulenga River, northwest through mountains, Tutura River. 4108:
Zhigalovo:start of passenger service, including hydrofoil to Ust-Kut. Canyon downstream.
In the
central section the river flows mostly northeast. 3705:
Ust-KutUst-Kut is a town in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. Located on a western loop of the Lena River, it spreads out over along the left bank, near the point where the Kuta River joins from the west. The town's name means 'mouth of the river Kuta' in Russian, with the name Kuta coming from an Evenk word...
: northwest of the northern tip of Lake Baikal. In Cossack times, this was the site of a portage between the Yenesei and Lena. Today it is the point where the Baikal-Amur Mainline railway crosses the Lena on a bridge and it handles 80% of cargo in the
Sakha Republic region. 3698:Lena: This is really a part of Ust-Kut, which is very spread out. Lena is the river port. 3397:
KirenskKirensk is a town and the administrative center of Kirensky District of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kirenga and the Lena Rivers, north of Irkutsk, north-northwest of the northern tip of Lake Baikal, and northeast of Ust-Kut...
: port and former Cossack portage. 3101: 'The devil's path', a section treacherous in flood. 3096: Shcheki ('the cheeks'), a narrow section with cliffs and twists.
Sakha Republic border. 2955:
VitimVitim is an urban locality in Lensky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the left bank of the Lena River at the confluence with the Vitim River...
: and
Vitim RiverVitim River is a major tributary of the Lena River. With its source east of Lake Baikal, the Vitim flows 1,978 km north through the Transbaykalian Mountains and the town of Bodaybo. The river peaks in June and freezes from November to May. It is navigable from the Lena to Bodaybo. Upstream,...
from the south. We are now northeast of Lake Baikal. River widens. Many dead trees in the water. 2931:Peledui:Peledui River, ship repair company and salt mines. 2744:
LenskLensk is a town and the administrative center of Lensky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the left bank of the Lena River, approximately west of Yakutsk, the capital of the republic. Population: -History:...
:the most important port between Kirensk and Yakutsk. Road 230 km north to the
Mir MineMir Mine also called Mirny Mine is an open pit diamond mine located in Mirny, Eastern Siberia, Russia. The mine is deep and has a diameter of , and is the second largest excavated hole in the world, after Bingham Canyon Mine...
. Here was a stopping point of the 'Perlinsky Trakht', a former courier route. Lena turns southeast and then northeast. 2587:Chepaevo: 2547:Macha, 2337:
OlyokminskOlyokminsk is a town and the administrative center of Olyokminsky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the left bank of the Lena River, southwest of Yakutsk. Population: -History:...
:,
Olyokma RiverThe Olyokma River is a tributary of the Lena in eastern Siberia. To the west is the Vitim River, to the south the Shilka River and Amur River and to the east, the upper Aldan River. Its right branch, the Tungur River, leads to a portage to the Shilka. Yerofey Khabarov used this route to travel...
from the south. River widens to 2 km and has extensive flood plains. 2213:Uritskoe, 2030-1850:
Lena PillarsLena Pillars is the name given to a natural rock formation along the banks of the Lena River in far eastern Siberia. The pillars are 150-300m high, and were formed 80 million years ago from Cambrian era sea-basin. This unique ecological and tourism location was submitted as a World Heritage site...
: cliffs along the right bank. 1937:Sinsk, Sinsk River and petroglyphs. 1820:Mokhsogollokh: ferry and paved road to Yakutsk on the opposite(west) bank. River turns north. 1805:
PokrovskPokrovsk is a town in the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the left bank of the Lena River, southwest of Yakutsk. Population: -Geography:...
: downstream:Tabaga Cliffs, narrows, power line and planned site of bridge for the
Amur Yakutsk MainlineThe Amur-Yakutsk Mainline is a partially complete railway in eastern Russia, linking the Trans-Siberian Railway and Baikal-Amur Mainline with the Sakha Republic....
railroad.
Nizhny BestyakhNizhny Bestyakh is an urban locality in Megino-Kangalassky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the east bank of the Lena River, opposite the republic's capital city of Yakutsk...
: 13 km southeast of Yakutsk on the left bank, Lena Highway comes in from the south. The Kolyma Highway to the Pacific starts nearby.
In the
lower section the river flows mostly north.
1710:YakutskWith a subarctic climate , Yakutsk is the coldest city, though not the coldest inhabited place, on Earth. Average monthly temperatures range from in July to in January. The coldest temperatures ever recorded on the planet outside Antarctica occurred in the basin of the Yana River to the northeast...
:. 1560
Aldan RiverThe Aldan River is the second-longest tributary of the Lena River in the Sakha Republic in eastern Siberia. The river is 2,273 km long, of which around 1,600 km is navigable. It was part of the River Route to Okhotsk...
from the east. River tends northwest. 1373:Sangar: coal mines. 1560:Vilyuy River from the west. River tends north. 959:Arctic Circle. 939:Zhigansk,founded in 1632, 865:Agraphena Island. 545:Sikhtyakh. 385:Kyushur:regional center. 222:Lena Delta. 0:
TiksiTiksi is an urban locality and the administrative center of Bulunsky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, situated on the Arctic Ocean coast. Population: It is one of the principal ports for accessing the Laptev Sea...
: on the mainland east to the delta. Port, airport, two and a half month navigation season. Five degrees north of the arctic circle.
Lena Delta
At the end of the Lena River there is a large delta that extends 100 km into the Laptev Sea and is about 400 km (248.5 mi) wide. The delta is frozen
tundraIn physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...
for about 7 months of the year, but in May transforms the region into a lush
wetlandA wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
for the next few months. Part of the area is protected as the
Lena Delta Wildlife ReserveLena Delta Wildlife Reserve is a Zapovednik located in the delta of the Lena River in Sakha Republic, in the far north of eastern Siberia, Russia. It has a total land area of , making it the largest protected area in Russia. The delta itself has a size of about , making it one of the largest of...
.
The Lena delta divides into a multitude of flat islands. The most important are (from West to East): Chychas Aryta, Petrushka, Sagastyr, Samakh Ary Diyete, Turkan Bel'keydere, Sasyllakh Ary, Kolkhoztakh Bel'keydere, Grigoriy Diyelyakh Bel'kee (Grigoriy Islands), Nerpa Uolun Aryta, Misha Bel'keydere, Atakhtay Bel'kedere, Arangastakh, Urdiuk Pastakh Bel'key, Agys Past' Aryta, Dallalakh Island, Otto Ary, Ullakhan Ary and Orto Ues Aryta.
Turukannakh-Kumaga is a long and narrow island off the Lena Delta's western shore.
One of the Lena delta islands, "Ostrov Amerika-Kuba-Aryta" or "Ostrov Kuba-Aryta" was named after the island of
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
during Soviet times. It is located at the edge of its northern shoreline.
Further reading
- Alexander von Bunge & Baron Eduard Von Toll, The Expedition to the New Siberian Islands and the Yana country, equipped by the Imperial Academy of Sciences. 1887.
See also
- List of rivers of Russia
- List of longest undammed rivers
- William Barr
William Barr is a Scottish historian now resident of Calgary, Canada, with a specific interest in the history of exploration of the Arctic, and to a lesser degree, the Antarctic. He holds degrees in Geography from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland and McGill University, Québec, Canada...
, writer of The First Soviet Convoy to the Mouth of the Lena.
External links
- Alfred Wegner institute (AWI) Publications, Berichte zur Polar- und Meeresforschung (Reports on polar and marine research) - free, downloadable research reports on the biology, geology, oceanography, hydrology, paleontology, paleoclimatology, fauna, flora, soils, cryology, and so forth of the Lena Delta, Laptev Sea, and other parts of the Arctic Circle.