, image = Olyokma river.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = View of the river , pushpin_map = Russia Sakha Republic , pushpin_map_size = , pushpin_map_caption= Location in the Sakha Republic, Russia , source1_location = 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.

, source1_coordinates = , source1_elevation = , mouth_location =

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 = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , subdivision_type1 = Country , subdivision_name1 =

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 ...

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 ...

, length = , discharge1_avg = , basin_size = 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 drai ...

of the

in eastern

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, 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 ...

. 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

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 tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China ( Inner Manchuria). The Amur proper is long, ...

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 portaged to the

Shilka River The Shilka (; 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 basin of .

, 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 (Олёкминский Становик), west of Mogocha. It flows through remote terrain and cuts across the Kalar Range 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 ...

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

.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. Its main tributaries are the

, the Nyukzha 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

References

External links

* Rivers of the Sakha Republic {{Russia-river-stub

History

Course

See also

References

External links