The Central Yakutian Lowland
[John Kimble (ed.), ''Cryosols: Permafrost-Affected Soils''] or Central Yakutian Lowlands (russian: Центральноякутская равнина; sah, Саха сирин ортоку намтала), also known as Central Yakut Plain or Vilyuy Lowland, is a low
alluvial plain
An alluvial plain is a largely flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A floodplain is part of the process, being the smal ...
in
Siberia,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
.
Administratively the territory of the lowland is part of the
Sakha Republic
Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia),, is the Federal subjects of Russia#List, largest republics of Russia, republic of Russia, located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of roughly 1 million. Sak ...
(Yakutia). It is an extensive plain located in the transition zone between Central and
Eastern Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
and is one of the
Great Russian Regions. The main city is
Yakutsk
Yakutsk (russian: Якутск, p=jɪˈkutsk; sah, Дьокуускай, translit=Djokuuskay, ) is the capital city of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located about south of the Arctic Circle. Fueled by the mining industry, Yakutsk has become one o ...
, with a number of settlements near it, but the area of the lowland is largely uninhabited elsewhere.
[ Google Earth]
Geography
The Central Yakutian Lowlands extend along the middle basin of the
Lena River
The Lena (russian: Ле́на, ; evn, Елюенэ, ''Eljune''; sah, Өлүөнэ, ''Ölüöne''; bua, Зүлхэ, ''Zülkhe''; mn, Зүлгэ, ''Zülge'') is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean ...
and partly further downstream and are about in length and wide. They drop gradually from the
Central Siberian Plateau
The Central Siberian Plateau (russian: Среднесибирское плоскогорье, Srednesibirskoye ploskogorye; sah, Орто Сибиир хаптал хайалаах сирэ) is a vast mountainous area in Siberia, one of the Gre ...
to the west and the
Lena Plateau
The Lena Plateau, also known as Prilensky Plateau ( rus, Приленское плато, ''Prilenskoye Plato''; sah, Өлүөнэтээҕи хаптал хайалаах сир), is one of the great plateaus of Siberia. Administratively it is m ...
to the south and southwest. To the northwest the lowland merges with the
North Siberian Lowland
The North Siberian Lowland (russian: Северо-Сибирская низменность; sah, Хотугу Сибиир намтала), also known as Taymyr Lowland (Таймырская низменность), is a plain with a relatively ...
and to the north it is bound by the watershed fringing the Lena and
Olenyok River
The Olenyok (russian: Оленёк, sometimes spelled ''Оленек'', ''Olenek''; sah, Өлөөн, Ölöön) is a major river in northern Siberian Russia, west of the lower Lena and east of the Anabar. It is long, of which around is navigabl ...
basins, and to the northeast and east the Central Yakutian Lowland reaches the foothills of the
Verkhoyansk Range
The Verkhoyansk Range (russian: Верхоянский хребет, ''Verkhojanskiy Khrebet''; sah, Үөһээ Дьааҥы сис хайата, ''Üöhee Chaangy sis khaĭata'') is a mountain range in the Sakha Republic, Russia near the settl ...
, westernmost part of the
East Siberian Mountains
The East Siberian Mountains or East Siberian Highlands ( rus, Восточно-Сибирское нагорье) are one of the largest mountain systems of the Russian Federation. They are located between the Central Yakutian Lowland and the Be ...
.
[ ''Central Yakutian Lowland''](_blank)
- Great Soviet Encyclopedia, Vol. 28, p. 513
The Central Yakutian Lowlands are a flat plain, slightly higher in its peripheral parts.
Permafrost is
continuous
Continuity or continuous may refer to:
Mathematics
* Continuity (mathematics), the opposing concept to discreteness; common examples include
** Continuous probability distribution or random variable in probability and statistics
** Continuous g ...
throughout the region. Owing to poor drainage, swamps and
thermokarst lakes (
alases), are common, as well as low bulges or bumps known as "
bulgunnyakh
Pingos are intrapermafrost ice-cored hills, high and in diameter. They are typically conical in shape and grow and persist only in permafrost environments, such as the Arctic and subarctic. A pingo is a periglacial landform, which is define ...
" ( sah, Булгунньах). In the northwest the
Tukulan
Tukulans ( rus, Тукуланы; sah, Тукулаан) are relief forms shaped by aeolian processes of the Central Yakutian Lowland, Yakutia, Russian Federation. They are sand dunes of a characteristic type mainly found along the valley of the ...
(Тукуланы) sand dunes are relief forms shaped by
aeolian processes
Aeolian processes, also spelled eolian, pertain to wind activity in the study of geology and weather and specifically to the wind's ability to shape the surface of the Earth (or other planets). Winds may erode, transport, and deposit material ...
along the valley of the Lena River.
Tukulan - The Yakut Desert
/ref> There are also some areas of high soil salinity
Soil salinity is the salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is known as salinization. Salts occur naturally within soils and water. Salination can be caused by natural processes such as mineral weathering or by the ...
.
Hydrography
There are hundreds of river valleys all across the lowlands, which, besides the Lena, include the lower reaches of the Lena tributaries Vilyuy
The Vilyuy ( rus, Вилю́й, p=vʲɪˈlʲʉj; sah, Бүлүү, ''Bülüü'', ) is a river in Russia, the longest tributary of the Lena. About long, it flows mostly within the Sakha Republic. Its basin covers about .
History
The river is fir ...
, Amga and Aldan Aldan may refer to:
;People
*Gille Aldan, the first bishop of Galloway, Scotland
*Andrey Aldan-Semenov (1908–1985), Russian writer
*Duke Aldan, a fictional character in ''Langrisser IV'' video game
;Places
*Aldan, Russia, a town in the Sakha Rep ...
. The entire length of the course of some of the large left tributaries of the Lena, such as the Lungkha
The Lungkha (russian: Лунгха; sah, Луҥха, ''Luŋxa'') is a river in Yakutia (Sakha Republic), Russia. It is the 14th longest tributary of the Lena with a length of — counting its Yychaky tributary. Its drainage basin area is .
A3 ...
, Tyugyuene
The Tyugyuene (russian: Тюгюэне or Тюгене; sah, Түгүөнэ, ''Tügüöne'') is a river in Yakutia (Sakha Republic), Russia. It is a tributary of the Lena with a length of and a drainage basin area of . The river marks the borde ...
, Sitte, Khanchaly
The Khanchaly (russian: Ханчалы; sah, Ханчылы, ''Xançılı'') is a river in Yakutia (Sakha Republic), Russia. It is a left tributary of the Lena with a length of . Its drainage basin area is .
The river flows across the Gorny, ...
and Kenkeme
The Kenkeme (russian: Кенкеме; sah, Кэҥкэмэ, ''Keŋkeme'') is a river in Yakutia (Sakha Republic), Russia. It is a tributary of the Lena with a length of — together with the Yagas-Yyaabyt at its head— and a drainage basin area ...
, falls wholly within the lowland area. These rivers are subject to spring floods during the thaw period and occasional rain floods in the summer. During the winter small rivers and rivulets freeze to the bottom. The largest lakes of the lowland are Nedzheli
Nedzheli (russian: Ниди́ли or Ниджили; sah, Нидьили, ''Nicili'') is a lake in Kobyaysky District, Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia.
The lake is a protected area of regional significance. Geography
Nedzheli is located near ...
and Ulakhan-Kyuel
Ulakhan-Kyuel, also spelled as ''Ulakhan-Kyuyel'' or ''Ulakhan-Kyuyol'' (russian: Улахан кюэль, Улахан Кюель or Улахан-Кюёль; sah, Улахан Күөл, ''Ulaxan Küöl'') is a lake in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia ...
.
Geology
Geologically the lowland roughly corresponds to the eastern, lowest parts of the Vilyuy Syneclise
Sedimentary basins are region-scale depressions of the Earth's crust where subsidence has occurred and a thick sequence of sediments have accumulated to form a large three-dimensional body of sedimentary rock. They form when long-term subsiden ...
. It is filled with Mesozoic deposits and Quaternary sands and loams, both of alluvial and eolian origin.
Climate and flora
The climate prevailing in the lowland is continental
Continental may refer to:
Places
* Continent, the major landmasses of Earth
* Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US
* Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US
Arts and entertainment
* ''Continental'' ( ...
and harsh, characterized by a very low annual rainfall of barely per year. 70% to 80% of the precipitation falls in the summer, mostly in the form of rain. The average air temperature in January is a chilly . In July the average temperature is .
Most of the lowland is covered by taiga in which larch
Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains furt ...
predominates. There are as well areas of birch
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...
forests, marshes and grassy meadow
A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifici ...
s.
See also
*Alas (geography)
Alas ( sah, Алаас) is a shallow depression which occurs primarily in Yakutia, which is formed by subsidence of the Arctic permafrost owing to repeated melting and refreezing. An alas first develops as a shallow lake as melt water fills the d ...
References
External links
*
Limnological characteristics of lakes in the lowlands of Central Yakutia, Russia
{{SakhaRepublic-geo-stub