The Olenyok (, sometimes spelled ''Оленек'', ''Olenek''; , Ölöön) is a major

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in northern

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, west of the lower

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 east of the

Anabar Anabar may refer to: * Anabar Bay, Laptev Sea * Anabar Constituency, Nauru * Anabar District, Nauru * Anabar District, Russia, Sakha, Russia * Anabar Highway, Russia * Anabar Plateau, Russia * Anabar (river) The Anabar (, in its upper course ...

. It is long, of which around is navigable. Average water discharge is . The Olenyok is known for its abundance in fish. It is frozen for over eight months every year and the climate in its area is harsh because of the direct influence of the Arctic.

History

In 1633 Ivan Rebrov reached the Olenyok from the Lena delta and built a fort. In 1642–44 Rebrov and

Fedot Alekseyev Popov Fedot Alekseyevich Popov (, also Fedot Alekseyev, ; nickname Kholmogorian, , for his place of birth ( Kholmogory), date of birth unknown, died between 1648 and 1654) was a Russian explorer who organized the first European expedition through the Be ...

reached the river but were driven out by the natives. Pioneering Russian Arctic explorer Vasili Pronchishchev and his wife

Tatiana Tatiana (or Tatianna, also romanized as Tatyana, Tatjana, Tatijana, etc.) is a female name of Sabine-Roman origin that became widespread in Eastern Europe. Origin Tatiana is a feminine, diminutive derivative of the Sabine—and later Latin� ...

(Maria) died of

scurvy Scurvy is a deficiency disease (state of malnutrition) resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, fatigue, and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, anemia, decreased red blood cells, gum d ...

in the area of the river in September 1736, while mapping the coasts of the Laptev Sea. After their deaths, husband and wife were interred at

Ust-Olenyok Ust-Olenyok (; ) is a rural locality (a '' selo''), the only inhabited locality, and the administrative center of Ystannakhsky Rural Okrug of Bulunsky District in the Sakha Republic, Russia, located from Tiksi, the administrative center of the ...

, near the mouth of the Olenyok. Their tomb was moved after the bodies were exhumed in 1999. In 1956 the

Olenekian In the geologic timescale, the Olenekian is an age (geology), age in the Early Triassic epoch (geology), epoch; in chronostratigraphy, it is a stage (stratigraphy), stage in the Lower Triassic series (stratigraphy), series. It spans the time betw ...

Age of the

Triassic The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...

Period of geological time was named for rock strata in the Olenyok area.

Course

The river's source is in

Krasnoyarsk Krai Krasnoyarsk Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krai) of Russia located in Siberia. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Krasnoyarsk, the second-largest city in Siberia after ...

, on the

Vilyuy Plateau The Vilyuy Plateau () 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 section of the Vilyuy River. Permafrost ...

, part of the

Central Siberian Plateau The Central Siberian Plateau (; ) is a vast mountainous area in Siberia, one of the Great Russian Regions. Geography The plateau occupies a great part of central Siberia between the Yenisei and Lena rivers. It is located in the Siberian Plat ...

. The river flows east and then north descending into the

North Siberian Lowland The North Siberian Lowland (; ), also known as Taymyr Lowland (), is a plain with a relatively flat relief separating the Byrranga Mountains of the Taymyr Peninsula in the north from the Central Siberian Plateau in the south. To the southeast ...

. In its lower course it bends northwestwards skirting the western slopes of the Kystyk Plateau and the

Chekanovsky Ridge The Chekanovsky Ridge (; ) is a range of mountains in the Bulunsky District, Yakutia, Russian Federation. The area of the range is uninhabited. The range was named after explorer of Siberia Alexander Chekanovsky (1833–1876). History Rising in ...

before emptying into the

Olenyok Gulf The Olenyok Gulf, also known as Olenek Bay, (; , ''Ölöön xomoto'') is a broad gulf in the Laptev Sea. It is located WSW of the huge Lena Delta, which forms its eastern limit. There are some islands in the gulf, like Salkay Island in the wes ...

of the

Laptev Sea The Laptev Sea () is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the northern coast of Siberia, the Taimyr Peninsula, Severnaya Zemlya, and the New Siberian Islands. Its northern boundary passes from the Arctic Cape to a point with ...

. Its mouth is at

just west of the Lena River delta. Olenyok is a village located on the river bank.

Google Earth Google Earth is a web mapping, web and computer program created by Google that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satelli ...

Tributaries

The major tributaries of the Olenyok are the

Arga-Sala The Arga-Sala (; , ''Arğaa Salaa'') is a river in Yakutia (Sakha Republic) and Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is the largest tributary of the Olenyok with a length of . Its drainage basin area is . The river basin is a lonely, desolate area devoi ...

(with its tributaries

Kengeede The Kengeede (; , ''Küŋgede''), also spelled as ''Kengede'', ''Kengyade'' or ''Kende'', is a river in Yakutia (Sakha Republic) and Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is the second longest tributary of the Arga-Sala, of the Olenyok basin, and has a l ...

Kukusunda The Kukusunda (; , ''Kukuhunda'') is a river in Yakutia (Sakha Republic) and Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is the longest tributary of the Arga-Sala, of the Olenyok basin, and has a length of and a drainage basin area of . The river flows acro ...

and

Kyuyonelekeen The Kyuyonelekeen (; , ''Küönelekeen''), also spelled as ''Kyuyonelekyan'' and ''Kyuenelekyan'', is a river in Yakutia (Sakha Republic) and Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is the third longest tributary of the Arga-Sala, of the Olenyok basin, an ...

Bur A bur (also spelled burr) is a seed or dry fruit or infructescence that has hooks or teeth. The main function of the bur is to spread the seeds of the bur plant, often through epizoochory. The hooks of the bur are used to latch onto fur or f ...

, Ukukit, Birekte, Kuoika,

Beyenchime The Beyenchime ( , ''Beyençime'') is a river in Yakutia (Sakha Republic), Russia. It is a tributary of the Olenyok with a length of . Its drainage basin area is . The river flows north of the Arctic Circle across a lonely, desolate area of the ...

and

Buolkalakh The Buolkalakh (; , ''Buolkalax'') is a river in Yakutia (Sakha Republic), Russia. It is a tributary of the Olenyok with a length of and a drainage basin area of . It is a lowland river with its mouth very close to the Olenyok delta. It flows ...

on the left, and the Alakit,

Siligir The Siligir (; ) is a river in Yakutia (Sakha Republic), Russia. It is the largest right tributary of the Olenyok with a length of — long counting the Orto-Siligir stretch of its upper course. Its drainage basin area is . The river flows jus ...

, Merchimden,

Kyuyutingde The Kyuyutingde () is a river in Yakutia (Sakha Republic), Russia. It is a tributary of the Olenyok with a length of — including the Debengde at its head— and a drainage basin area of . It flows north of the Arctic Circle across a desolate ...

(Кюютингдэ),

Khorbusuonka The Khorbusuonka () is a river in Yakutia (Sakha Republic), Russia. It is a tributary of the Olenyok with a length of and a drainage basin area of . The river flows north of the Arctic Circle across a lonely, desolate area of Bulunsky Distric ...

and Kelimyar on the right.

Islands

Dyangylakh or Dzhyangylakh (Ostrov Dyangylakh) is a large flat delta island at the mouth of the Olenek River. There are many smaller islands in its immediate vicinity, such as Eppet Island off its eastern side, but none comes close to its size. Dyangylakh is long and wide.Dyangylakh
/ref>

References

External links