Zeya (russian: Зе́я) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...

Amur Oblast Amur Oblast ( rus, Аму́рская о́бласть, r=Amurskaya oblast, p=ɐˈmurskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya Rivers in the Russian Far East. The administrativ ...

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-eigh ...

, located on the Zeya River (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 drainag ...

of the

Amur The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China ( Inner Manchuria). The Amur proper is long ...

) southeast of Tynda and north of Blagoveshchensk.

History

It was founded in 1879 as the settlement of ''Zeysky Sklad'' (, lit. ''Zeya warehouse''), as a supply and administrative center for the exploitation of newly discovered

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

deposits in the Zeya River basin. By 1906, the settlement had grown to over 5,000 inhabitants, and was granted town status under the name ''Zeya-Pristan'' (, lit ''Zeya Port''). In 1913, the town's name was shortened to Zeya. The town remained one of Russia's most important centers of gold production until the opening of the

Kolyma Kolyma (russian: Колыма́, ) is a region located in the Russian Far East. It is bounded to the north by the East Siberian Sea and the Arctic Ocean, and by the Sea of Okhotsk to the south. The region gets its name from the Kolyma River ...

region in the 1930s. Construction of the Zeya Dam, beginning in 1964, saw a new growth period for the town.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Zeya serves as the

administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, L ...

of Zeysky District,Law #73-OZ even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as Zeya Urban Okrug—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.Law #127-OZ As a municipal division, this administrative unit also has urban okrug status.Law #407-OZ

Economy

The Zeya Dam is the main economic focus for the town, with forestry, gold mining and agriculture also conducted in the area.

Climate

Zeya experiences a monsoon influenced

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''Dwb'') with frigid, dry winters and short, warm summers.

Sister cities

* Baker City,

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

References

Notes

Sources

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External links

Official website of Zeya

Zeya Business Directory
{{Use mdy dates, date=March 2013 Cities and towns in Amur Oblast Populated places established in 1879