The Vilyuy ( rus, Вилю́й, p=vʲɪˈlʲʉj; sah, Бүлүү, ''Bülüü'', ) is a river in

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-ei ...

, the longest tributary 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 ...

. About long, it flows mostly within 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 E ...

. Its basin covers about .

History

The river is first mentioned in the 17th century in connection with the

Russian conquest of Siberia The Russian conquest of Siberia took place in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, when the Khanate of Sibir became a loose political structure of vassalages that were being undermined by the activities of Russian explorers. Although outnumber ...

. In 1634, Russian

Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

, headed by Voin Shakhov, established a winter settlement at the confluence of the rivers Vilyuy and

Tyukyan The Tyukyan ( rus, Тюкян; sah, Түүкээн ''Tüükeen'') is a river in the Republic of Sakha in Russia. It is a left hand tributary of the Vilyuy, and is long, with a drainage basin of . There are no permanent settlements by the river ...

. This settlement served as the administrative center of the area for several decades, after which it was moved to the Yolyonnyokh area down by the Vilyuy, where the ''ostrog'' (fortified settlement) of Olensk (now Vilyuysk) was founded in 1773. In the 1950s,

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...

deposits were discovered in the area, about from its mouth. This led to the construction of the

Mir Mine The Mir mine (russian: кимберлитовая алмазная трубка «Мир» ''kimberlitovaya almaznaya trubka "Mir"''; English: kimberlite diamond pipe "Peace"), also called the Mirny mine, is an open pit diamond mine located in ...

, together with access roads and an airport, and the Vilyuy Dam complex to generate power needed for the diamond concentrators.A. Gavrilov
Вилюй
in:

Great Russian Encyclopedia The ''Great Russian Encyclopedia'' (GRE; russian: Большая российская энциклопедия, БРЭ, transliterated as ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya entsiklopediya'' or academically as ''Bolšaja rossijskaja enciklopedija'') is a ...

Geography and geology

The Vilyuy has its sources in the

Vilyuy Plateau The Vilyuy Plateau ( rus, Вилюйское плато) is a mountain plateau in Krasnoyarsk Krai and the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Siberia, Russia. It is a part of the Central Siberian Plateau and it is made up mainly of the upper course sectio ...

, part 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 ...

, in the

Evenkiysky District Evenkiysky District (russian: Эвенки́йский райо́н), or Evenkia (russian: Эвенкия),According to Article 2.4 of the Charter of Evenkiysky Municipal District, the names "Evenkiysky Municipal District" and "Evenkia" have e ...

(

Krasnoyarsk Krai Krasnoyarsk Krai ( rus, Красноя́рский край, r=Krasnoyarskiy kray, p=krəsnɐˈjarskʲɪj ˈkraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), with its administrative center in the city of Krasnoyarsk, the third-largest city in Si ...

) and, flowing east, soon enters Sakha. It turns towards the south and southeast in the

Central Yakutian Lowland The Central Yakutian LowlandJohn Kimble (ed.), ''Cryosols: Permafrost-Affected Soils'' or Central Yakutian Lowlands (russian: Центральноякутская равнина; sah, Саха сирин ортоку намтала), also known as ...

, then back towards the east, and finally enters the Lena about downstream of

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 ...

, near Sangar. The

Ust-Vilyuy Range The Ust-Vilyuy Range (russian: Хребет Усть-Вилюйский, sah, Уус Бүлүү) is a range of mountains in North-eastern Russia. Administratively the range is part of the Sakha Republic of the Russian Federation. The area of the ...

rises above the facing bank of the

, opposite the mouth of the Vilyuy. To the west of the Vilyuy and

Chona The Chona ( rus, Чона; sah, Чуона) is a river in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) and Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. It is a right hand tributary of the Vilyuy, and is long, with a drainage basin of . The Russian Geographical Society organized a ...

is the

Nizhnyaya Tunguska The Nizhnyaya Tunguska ( rus, Ни́жняя Тунгу́ска, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪjə tʊnˈɡuskə, meaning "Lower Tunguska") is a river in Siberia, Russia, that flows through the Irkutsk Oblast and the Krasnoyarsk Krai. The river is a right tribut ...

basin. The Vilyuy basin is sparsely populated. Small settlements along the river include Vilyuysk,

Verkhnevilyuysk __NOTOC__ Verkhnevilyuysk (russian: Верхневилюйск; sah, Үөһээ Бүлүү, ''Üöhee Bülüü'') is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Verkhnevilyuysky District of Sakha Republic, Russia. Its populat ...

, Suntar, and

Nyurba Nyurba ( rus, Нюрба, p=nʲʊˈrba; sah, Ньурба, ''Nyurba'' ) is a town and the administrative center of Nyurbinsky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the Vilyuy River, a right-hand tributary of the Lena, northwest of Y ...

. The main tributaries of the Vilyuy are the Ulakhan-Vava, Chirkuo,

, Chybyda,

Ulakhan-Botuobuya The Ulakhan-Botuobuya ( rus, Улахан-Ботуобуя or Большая Ботуобуя; "Big Botuobuya"; sah, Улахан Ботуобуйа) is a river in Yakutia (Sakha Republic), Russia. It is a right hand tributary of the Vilyuy, with ...

Ochchuguy-Botuobuya The Ochchuguy-Botuobuya ( rus, Оччугуй-Ботуобуя or Малая Ботуобуя; sah, Оччугуй Ботуобуйа) is a river in the Republic of Sakha in Russia. It is a right hand tributary of the Vilyuy, and is long, with ...

, Tangnary, and Bappagay on the right; and the Akhtaranda, Ygyatta, Markha,

, and Tyung on the left. Vilyuy is associated with geological formations Yakutsk-Vilyuy Rift (Vilyuy Rift Basin) and Yakutsk-Vilyuy LIP (

large igneous province A large igneous province (LIP) is an extremely large accumulation of igneous rocks, including intrusive (sills, dikes) and extrusive (lava flows, tephra deposits), arising when magma travels through the crust towards the surface. The formation ...

), also known as Vilyuy Traps.Time correlation between the formation of dyke swarms and crustal extension stages in the Middle Paleozoic Vilyui rift basin, Siberian platform
/ref>

References

External links

*
Encyclopædia Britannica
{{Authority control Rivers of Krasnoyarsk Krai Rivers of the Sakha Republic Tributaries of the Lena Central Yakutian Lowland

History

Geography and geology

See also

References

External links