, image = Olyokma river.jpg
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, image_caption = View of the river
, pushpin_map = Russia Sakha Republic
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, pushpin_map_caption= Location in the
Sakha Republic
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 Eas ...
, Russia
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Muroy Range,
Olyokma-Stanovik
The Olyokma-Stanovik ( rus, Олёкминский Становик; ''Olyokminsky Stanovik'') is a system of mountain ranges in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia. The western end of the range reaches into Amur Oblast.
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Lena
Lena or LENA may refer to:
Places
* Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso
* Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada
* Lena, Norway, a village in ...
, mouth_coordinates =
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, subdivision_type1 = Country
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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 Eas ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
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The Olyokma (russian: Олёкма, , ;
[ sah, Өлүөхүмэ, ][) 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 drainage ...
of the Lena
Lena or LENA may refer to:
Places
* Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso
* Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada
* Lena, Norway, a village in ...
in 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 ...
.
The river gives its name to the Olyokma-Chara Plateau
The Olyokma-Chara Plateau ( rus, Олёкмо-Чарское плоскогорье; sah, Өлүөхүмэ-Чаара хаптал хайалаах сир) is a mountainous area in the Sakha Republic and Irkutsk Oblast, Far Eastern Federal Di ...
, located to the west of its western bank.
History
In the summer of 1631, Russian pioneer Pyotr Beketov
Pyotr Beketov (russian: link=no, Пётр Иванович Бекетов, c. 1600 – c. 1661) was a Cossack explorer of Siberia and founder of various fortified settlements in the region, which later developed into modern cities such as Yakutsk, ...
entered the Olyokma during his first voyage down the Lena
Lena or LENA may refer to:
Places
* Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso
* Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada
* Lena, Norway, a village in ...
and in 1636 he founded the present-day city of Olyokminsk
Olyokminsk ( rus, Олёкминск, p=ɐˈlʲɵkmʲɪnsk; sah, Өлүөхүмэ, ''Ölüökhüme'') is a town and the administrative center of Olyokminsky District in the Sakha Republic, Russia, southwest of Yakutsk, the capital of the rep ...
near the mouth of the river on the left bank of Lena.
Yerofey Khabarov
Yerofey Pavlovich Khabarov or Svyatitsky (russian: Ерофе́й Па́влович Хаба́ров (Святи́тский), ; the first name is often spelled Ярофей (Yarofey) in contemporary accounts; 1603 – after 1671), was a Russia ...
used this river's route to travel from the Lena to the Amur
The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...
during his mid-17th century expeditions. In the spring of 1649 Khabarov set off at his own expense up the Olyokma, then up its tributary, the Tungir
The Tungir (russian: Тунгир) is a river in Transbaikalia, East Siberia, Russian Federation. It is the third largest tributary of the Olyokma in terms of length and area of its basin. The river is long and has a drainage basin of . The Tung ...
and portage
Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...
d to the Shilka River
The Shilka (; Evenki language, Evenki: Силькари, Sil'kari; bua, Шилкэ, ''Shilke''; mn, Шилка, ''Shilka''; zh, 石勒喀) is a river in Zabaykalsky Krai, (Dauria) south-eastern Russia. It has a length of , and has a drainage ba ...
, reaching the upper Amur ( Dauria) in early 1650.
Course
The river is long, and has a drainage basin of . The Olyokma rises in the Muroy Range, Olyokma-Stanovik Highlands
The Olyokma-Stanovik ( rus, Олёкминский Становик; ''Olyokminsky Stanovik'') is a system of mountain ranges in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia. The western end of the range reaches into Amur Oblast. (Олёкминский Становик), west of Mogocha
Mogocha ( rus, Могоча, p=mɐˈgotɕə) is a town and the administrative center of Mogochinsky District in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, located northeast of Chita, the administrative center of the krai. Population:
Etymology
The name "Mogoch ...
. It flows through remote terrain and cuts across the Kalar Range
The Kalar Range (russian: Каларский хребет, translit=Kalarskiy khrebet) is a mountain range in Zabaykalsky Krai and the NW end of Amur Oblast, Russian Federation. The highest point of the range is high Skalisty Golets. Google Earth
...
of the Stanovoy Highlands
The Stanovoy Highlands ( rus, Станово́е наго́рье) or Stanovoy Uplands is a mountain range in the Transbaikal region of Siberia, Russia.
Geography
The Stanovoy Highlands are a mountainous area between the Patom Highlands to the n ...
through a narrow valley. Further north it bends around the eastern end of the Udokan Range
The Udokan Range (russian: хребет Удокан) is a mountain range in Sakha Republic (Yakutia) and Zabaykalsky Krai, Russian Federation. The nearest town is Chara.Google Earth
There is copper mining in the range at the Udokan mine, part ...
and flows roughly north before joining the Lena near Olyokminsk
Olyokminsk ( rus, Олёкминск, p=ɐˈlʲɵkmʲɪnsk; sah, Өлүөхүмэ, ''Ölüökhüme'') is a town and the administrative center of Olyokminsky District in the Sakha Republic, Russia, southwest of Yakutsk, the capital of the rep ...
.Russian State Water Register - Olyokma River
/ref>
To the west flows the Vitim
Vitim (russian: Витим) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia.
Modern localities
*Vitim, Sakha Republic, an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Lensky District of the Sakha Republic
* Vitim, Republic of Buryatia, a ...
, to the south the Shilka and Amur, and to the east the upper 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 R ...
. Its main tributaries are the Tungir
The Tungir (russian: Тунгир) is a river in Transbaikalia, East Siberia, Russian Federation. It is the third largest tributary of the Olyokma in terms of length and area of its basin. The river is long and has a drainage basin of . The Tung ...
, the Nyukzha
The Nyukzha (russian: Нюкжа) is a river in Amur Oblast and Transbaikalia, East Siberia, Russian Federation. It is the second largest tributary of the Olyokma river in terms of length and area of its basin. The Nyukzha is long and has a drai ...
and the Chara —with its tributary the Tokko.[''Олёкма'' // ]Great Soviet Encyclopedia
The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...
, in 30 vols. / Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov . - 3rd ed. - M., 1969-197
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 drained into ...
*Olyokma Nature Reserve
Olyokma Nature Reserve (russian: Олёкминский) (also Olekminsky) is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict nature reserve) located south of the middle reaches of the Lena River on the right bank of its second largest tributary - the Olyokma River ...
References
External links
*
Rivers of the Sakha Republic
{{Russia-river-stub