The Merchimden (russian: Мерчимден) is a river in
Yakutia
Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia),, is the largest republic of Russia, located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of roughly 1 million. Sakha comprises half of the area of its governing Far E ...
(Sakha Republic),
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-eig ...
. It is a
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...
of the
Olenyok with a length of and a drainage basin area of .
The river flows north of the
Arctic Circle across a lonely, desolate area of
Olenyoksky District
Olenyoksky District (russian: Оленёкский улу́с; sah, Өлөөн улууһа, ''Ölöön uluuha'', ), or Olenyoksky-Evenki National District, is an administrativeConstitution of the Sakha Republic and municipalLaw #172-Z #351-III di ...
devoid of settlements.
[ Google Earth]
Course
The Merchimden originates in the eastern fringes of 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 ...
, very near the sources of the east-flowing
Motorchuna. The river flows initially to the northeast, then roughly northwards all along its course, parallel to the Olenyok flowing in the same direction a little further to the west. In its last stretch it
meander
A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex ba ...
s very strongly. Finally it meets the right bank of the Olenyok from its mouth. The confluence is just a little downstream from a very strong eastward bend of the Olenyok. There are a few small lakes just east of the confluence.
The river is frozen between the first half of October and early June.
nature.ykt.ru (Мерчимден)
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Tributaries
The main tributaries of the Merchimden are the long Khayalaakh-Yurekh (Хайалаах-Юрэх) and the long Magan-Khayalaakh (Маган-Хайалаах) from the left, as well as the long Pastaakh-Yurekh (Паастаах-Юрэх) and the long Ulakhan-Kurung-Yurekh (Улахан-Курунг-Юрэх) from the right.[
]
See also
*List of rivers of Russia
Russia can be divided into a European and an Asian part. The dividing line is generally considered to be the Ural Mountains. The European part is drained into the Arctic Ocean, Baltic Sea, Black Sea, and Caspian Sea. The Asian part is drain ...
References
External links
Третий Космос... Виктор Музис (Exploring the Merchimden on a GT-T vehicle)
{{Portal bar, Russia
Rivers of the Sakha Republic
Central Siberian Plateau
Tributaries of the Olenyok