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

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 ...

, 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 a republics of Russia, republic of Russia, and the largest federal subject of Russia by area. It is located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of one million ...

. 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 during 1581–1778, when the Khanate of Sibir became a loose political structure of vassalages that were being undermined by the activities of Russian explorers. Although outnumbered, the Russians pr ...

. In the 1950s,

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

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

Mir Mine The Mir mine (, ; ), also called the Mirny mine, is an open pit diamond mine located in Mirny, Sakha Republic, in the Siberian region of eastern Russia. The mine is more than 525 meters (1,722 ft) deep (4th in the world), has a diameter of 1,200 ...

, together with access roads and an airport, and the

Vilyuy Dam The Vilyuy Dam (; ) is a large dam and hydroelectric power station on the Vilyuy River in Chernyshevsky, Mirninsky District, Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia. The dam was built between 1964 and 1967 to provide power for diamond mines in the area. ...

complex to generate power needed for the diamond concentrators.A. Gavrilov
Вилюй
in:

Great Russian Encyclopedia The ''Great Russian Encyclopedia'' (''GRE''; , БРЭ, transliterated as ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya entsiklopediya'' or academically as ''Bol'šaja rossijskaja ènciklopedija'') is a universal Russian encyclopedia, completed in 36 volumes, publishe ...

Geography

The Vilyuy has its sources in 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 ...

, in the

Evenkiysky District Evenkiysky District (, ), or Evenkia (),According to Article 2.4 of the Charter of Evenkiysky Municipal District, the names "Evenkiysky Municipal District" and "Evenkia" have equal status. is an administrativeLaw #10-4765 and municipalLaw #13 ...

(

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 ...

) 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 the Central Yakutian Lowlands (; ), also known as the Central Yakut Plain or the Vilyuy Lowland, is a low alluvial plain in Siberia, Russia. Administrati ...

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

Yakutsk Yakutsk ( ) is the capital and largest city of Sakha, Russia, located about south of the Arctic Circle. Fueled by the mining industry, Yakutsk has become one of Russia's most rapidly growing regional cities, with a population of 355,443 at the ...

, near Sangar. The

Ust-Vilyuy Range The Ust-Vilyuy Range (, ) 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 range is largely uninhabited, there are only some abandoned villages. ...

rises above the facing bank of the

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

Chona The Chona (; , ''Çuona'') 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 an expedition in 18 ...

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 tributa ...

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

Vilyuysk Vilyuysk ( rus, Вилюйск, p=vʲɪˈlʲʉjsk; , ''Bülüü'') is a town and the administrative center of Vilyuysky District in the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the Vilyuy River (left tributary of the Lena), about from Yakutsk, the ...

Verkhnevilyuysk __NOTOC__ Verkhnevilyuysk (; , ''Üöhee Bülüü'') is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Verkhnevilyuysky District of Sakha Republic, Russia. Its population as of the 2010 Census was 6,457,Sakha Republic Territoria ...

, Suntar,

Ekonda Ekonda () is a rural locality in Evenkiysky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located in an area of lakes. Population: KrasAvia operates flights to Ekonda. Geography Ekonda is located by the left bank of the Vilyuy river, a little downstream ...

and

Nyurba Nyurba ( rus, Нюрба, p=nʲʊˈrba; , ) 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 Yakutsk, the capital of the ...

Tributaries

The main tributaries of the Vilyuy are the

Ulakhan-Vava The Ulakhan-Vava (; ) is a river in Yakutia (Sakha Republic), Russia. It is a left hand tributary of the Vilyuy, and is long, with a drainage basin of . The river flows across Mirninsky District; there are no permanent settlements in the area. ...

Chirkuo The Chirkuo () is a river in Yakutia (Sakha Republic), Russia. It is a right hand tributary of the Vilyuy, and is long — including the Duikhta at its head, with a drainage basin of . In the Ust-Chirkuo Site () there are remains of ancient sett ...

Chybyda The Chybyda (; ) is a river in Yakutia (Sakha Republic), Russia. It is a right hand tributary of the Vilyuy, with a length of and a drainage basin area of . The river flows across practically uninhabited territory of Vilyuysky District. Its conf ...

Ulakhan-Botuobuya The Ulakhan-Botuobuya ( or Большая Ботуобуя; "Big Botuobuya"; , ''Ulaxan Botuobuya'') is a river in Yakutia (Sakha Republic), Russia. It is a right hand tributary of the Vilyuy, with a length of and a drainage basin area of . The r ...

Ochchuguy-Botuobuya The Ochchuguy-Botuobuya ( or Малая Ботуобуя; , ''Oççuguy Botuobuya'') is a river in the Republic of Sakha in Russia. It is a right hand tributary of the Vilyuy, and is long, with a drainage basin of . Course The river begins in ...

, ,

Kempendyay Kempendyay (; , ''Kempendeeyi'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a ''village#Russia, selo''), the administrative centre of and one of two settlements, in addition to Chayygda, in Kempendyaysky Rural Okrug of Suntarsky ...

Tonguo The Tonguo (; ) is a river in Yakutia (Sakha Republic), Russia. It is a right hand tributary of the Vilyuy, with a length of and a drainage basin area of . The river flows across uninhabited territory of Verkhnevilyuysky District. Its confluence ...

and Bappagay on the right; and the Sen,

Lakharchana The Lakharchana (; ), is a river in Yakutia (Sakha Republic), Russia. It is a left hand tributary of the Vilyuy, and is long, with a drainage basin of . The river flows across an uninhabited sector of Mirninsky District. Course The Lakharchan ...

Akhtaranda The Akhtaranda (; ), is a river in Yakutia (Sakha Republic), Russia. It is a left hand tributary of the Vilyuy, and is long — including the length of the Almydya at its head. The Akhtaranda has a drainage basin of . The river flows across an u ...

, Ygyatta, Markha,

Tyukyan The Tyukyan (; ''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, but its source lies close to Eyi ...

, and Tyung on the left.

Geology

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 format ...

), 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
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References

External links