Lensk
Encyclopedia
Lensk 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 840 kilometres (522 mi) west of Yakutsk
, the capital
of the republic. Population:
settlement known as Mukhtuy. The name of the original settlement was derived from an Evenk
term meaning great water.
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was a place of political exile
.
It experienced a period of rapid growth during the 20th century as a result of the discovery and development of diamond deposits in the Vilyuy River basin
. As the closest significant settlement to the major kimberlite
excavations
at the Mir Mine
and the establishment of the associated city
of Mirny, Mukhtuya became a major base of construction. In 1956, roads were built connecting Mukhtuya to the future Mirny and the port was established. Lensk was granted town status and was given its present name on July 13, 1963, after the river on which it stands.
In May 2001, Lensk briefly came to the world's attention when almost the entire town was flooded and a large amount of the buildings destroyed. The floods were caused by river ice blocking the river downstream, creating a dam. The town was largely rebuilt after the flooding.
and timber
sector and a large-panel housing factory. The town is also home to the Yakutalmaz scientific research organization.
Lensk is connected with Mirny
by road and has scheduled air connections with Mirny, Yakutsk, and Irkutsk
. As a major port on the Lena, Lensk has developed as a processing point for the region's diamond
industry.
cave with a 25 metres (82 ft) waterfall
and karst lake.
Lensky District
Lensky District is the name of several administrative and municipal districts in Russia:*Lensky District, Arkhangelsk Oblast, an administrative and municipal district of Arkhangelsk Oblast...
of the Sakha Republic, Russia
Russia
Russia 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...
, located on the left bank of the Lena River
Lena River
The Lena is the easternmost 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 watershed...
, approximately 840 kilometres (522 mi) west of Yakutsk
Yakutsk
With 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...
, the capital
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
of the republic. Population:
History
The original settlement was founded as Mukhtuya in 1663 by Russian fur traders, on the site of an older EvenkEvenks
The 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...
settlement known as Mukhtuy. The name of the original settlement was derived from an Evenk
Evenk language
Evenki is the largest member of the northern group of Tungusic languages, a group which also includes Even, Negidal, and Oroqen language...
term meaning great water.
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was a place of political exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
.
It experienced a period of rapid growth during the 20th century as a result of the discovery and development of diamond deposits in the Vilyuy River basin
Drainage basin
A 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...
. As the closest significant settlement to the major kimberlite
Kimberlite
Kimberlite is a type of potassic volcanic rock best known for sometimes containing diamonds. It is named after the town of Kimberley in South Africa, where the discovery of an diamond in 1871 spawned a diamond rush, eventually creating the Big Hole....
excavations
Open-pit mining
Open-pit mining or opencast mining refers to a method of extracting rock or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open pit or borrow....
at the Mir Mine
Mir Mine
Mir 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...
and the establishment of the associated city
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
of Mirny, Mukhtuya became a major base of construction. In 1956, roads were built connecting Mukhtuya to the future Mirny and the port was established. Lensk was granted town status and was given its present name on July 13, 1963, after the river on which it stands.
In May 2001, Lensk briefly came to the world's attention when almost the entire town was flooded and a large amount of the buildings destroyed. The floods were caused by river ice blocking the river downstream, creating a dam. The town was largely rebuilt after the flooding.
Economy
In addition to its association with the diamond industry and construction, Lensk has a significant forestryLogging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
and timber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
sector and a large-panel housing factory. The town is also home to the Yakutalmaz scientific research organization.
Lensk is connected with Mirny
Mirny, Sakha Republic
Mirny is a town in the Sakha Republic, Russia, located west of Yakutsk on the Irelyakh River . Population: It was founded in 1955 after the discovery of a nearby kimberlite pipe by expedition led by Yuri Khabardin; it has had town status since 1959.The town is served by Mirny Airport.There is a...
by road and has scheduled air connections with Mirny, Yakutsk, and Irkutsk
Irkutsk
Irkutsk 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...
. As a major port on the Lena, Lensk has developed as a processing point for the region's diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
industry.
Places of interest
Lensk has a history museum and operates a branch of the Irkutsk Polytechnic Institute. Seven kilometres south-west of the town there is a karstKARST
Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...
cave with a 25 metres (82 ft) waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
and karst lake.