The Vitim (; , ; , ; Buryat and , ''Vitim'') is a major

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''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 into which they ...

of the Lena. Its

source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute ...

is east of

Lake Baikal Lake Baikal is a rift lake and the deepest lake in the world. It is situated in southern Siberia, Russia between the Federal subjects of Russia, federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast, Irkutsk Oblasts of Russia, Oblast to the northwest and the Repu ...

, at the confluence of rivers Vitimkan from the west and China from the east. The Vitim flows first south, bends eastwards and then northward in the Vitim Plateau. Then it flows north through the

Stanovoy Highlands The Stanovoy Highlands () 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 north and the Vitim Plateau to the south. ...

and the town of

Bodaybo Bodaybo ( rus, Бодайбо, p=bədɐjˈbo) is a town and the administrative center of Bodaybinsky District in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. It is located from Irkutsk, the administrative center of the oblast. Geography The town is located in th ...

. Including river Vitimkan, its western source, it is long, and has a drainage basin of .Витим (река в Бурят. АССР)

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; , ''BSE'') 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 ''Great Russian Enc ...

It is navigable from the Lena to Bodaybo. Upstream, tugs can haul barges as far as the

Baikal Amur Mainline Lake Baikal is a rift lake and the deepest lake in the world. It is situated in southern Siberia, Russia between the Federal subjects of Russia, federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast, Irkutsk Oblasts of Russia, Oblast to the northwest and the Repu ...

(BAM), but this is becoming rare. The Vitim is an excellent place for adventure rafting, but is rarely visited because of its isolation.

Baissa The Zaza Formation is a geological formation located in Buryatia (Russia). It dates to the Lower Cretaceous. The age of the formation is disputed, and is considered likely to be Valanginian-Hauterivian, or Aptian in age. It comprises sandstones, ...

, one of the famous localities of fossil insects is situated on the left bank of the Vitim River.

History

The first Russian to explore the river was probably

Maksim Perfilyev Maksim Perfilyev ( (b. 1580 – d. 1638) was a Cossack explorer of Eastern Siberia and the first Russian to reach Transbaikalia. He was renowned for his diplomatic skills in negotiations with Tunguses, Mongols and Chinese. In 1618–19 Perf ...

in 1639–40, who brought back reports of the upper

Amur River The Amur River () or Heilong River ( zh, s=黑龙江) is a perennial river in Northeast Asia, forming the natural border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China (historically the Outer and Inner Manchuria). The Amur ''proper'' is ...

. Formerly, because of its swift current, goods were hauled overland from Chita to Romanovka. There boats were built, floated down the river, and broken up at their destination. This lasted until the late 1940s.

Vitim impact event

The Vitim event occurred in the Vitim River basin near

on 25 September 2002. The event was probably caused by a

bolide A bolide is normally taken to mean an exceptionally bright meteor, but the term is subject to more than one definition, according to context. It may refer to any large Impact crater, crater-forming body, or to one that explodes in the atmosphere. ...

. The event was similar to

Tagish Lake Tagish Lake is a lake in Yukon and northern British Columbia, Canada. The lake is long and averages wide with an area of , about two thirds of which is in British Columbia. The average depth is and maximum depth is . It has two arms, the Ta ...

Course

Going upstream: Vitim town where the Vitim joins the Lena. Mama and Mama Airport, about south of Vitim. A muscovite mica mine from 1705 until the late 1930s. Now a small settlement. Mamakan, on a west-flowing stretch south-southeast of Vitim. In 1963 a 86MW dam on the Mamakan River was completed, one of the first dams built on permafrost.Mamakan reservoir - Water of Russia
/ref>

, just upstream, a gold mining center founded in 1864. Upstream, the port of Luzhki was the start of a road to the Lena gold fields. From here upstream the river goes crookedly east and then south. About upstream from Bodaybo are the Delyun-Uran Rapids and after more, the Parama Rapids. About or so upstream, the Vitim is crossed by the

between

Taksimo Taksimo (; Buryat and , ''Taksimo'') is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Muysky District of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located on the Muya River on the Muysk Plateau in the far northeast of th ...

and Kuanda. Upriver there are more rapids and goldfields. South through the Stanovoy Mountains toward Chita, then west into the Vitim Plateau east of

.Yates and Zvegentzov,'Siberian BAM Guide',2001 The river peaks in June and freezes from November to May.

Tributaries

The main tributaries of the Vitim are, from source to mouth: * Konda (right) * Karenga (right) *

Kalakan Kalakan , is a village located in the center of Kalakan District, Kabul Province, Afghanistan. Notable People of Kalakan * Habibullāh Kalakāni, Afghan revolutionary leader who deposed the Barakzai Dynasty and captured vast swathes of Afgha ...

(right) * Kalar (right) *

Tsipa The Tsipa () is the largest tributary of the Vitim in Buryatia, Russia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . Maksim Perfilyev was the first Russian to reach the Tsipa in 1640. Perch, pike, lenok, grayling, taimen and whitefish are also ...

(left) *

Bambuyka The Bambuyka () is a river in Buryatia, southern East Siberia, Russia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . The only inhabited place in the area is Bambuyka, Muysky District, a small hamlet located close to the mouth of the river.Googl ...

(right) * Muya (left) *

Kuanda The Kuanda (), also known as Konda, is a river in Zabaykalsky Krai, southern East Siberia, Russia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . The river flows across sparsely inhabited areas of the Kalarsky District.Google Earth Course The Ku ...

(left) *

(right) * Mamakan (left) *

Mama Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent * Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Maternal uncle, in some parts of South Asia Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlement in the Mam ...

(left)

References

External links