Lena River

The Lena is a river in the Russian Far East. It is one of the three big rivers of Siberia that flow into the Arctic Ocean. The other two are the Ob and Yenisey.

The Lena River is very long, about 4,294 kilometers (2,668 miles). It is the eleventh-longest river in the world and the longest river that only flows through Russia. The river drains a very large area of 2,490,000 square kilometers (960,000 square miles).

Permafrost, soil that stays frozen for many years, covers most of the land where the Lena River flows. This frozen ground is found under more than three-quarters of the river’s drainage basin.

Course

The Lena River starts in the Baikal Mountains, near Lake Baikal. It flows northeast and picks up three smaller rivers: the Kirenga, the Vitim, and the Olyokma. After passing through Yakutsk, it turns north and west, forming a large river delta that reaches the Laptev Sea in the Arctic Ocean.

People can travel on the Lena River for about 3,540 kilometers. The river is free of ice and can be used for travel for about 70 days near the sea and 125 days in other parts.

Lena River from a source to Kachug
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Basin

The Lena River has a very large area of 2,490,000 square kilometres (960,000 sq mi). Its water flow is strong, moving 489 cubic kilometers every year. People find gold in the sands of two smaller rivers, the Vitim and the Olyokma. They even find old mammoth tusks where the river meets the sea. There are many lakes along the river, with Lakes Nedzheli and Ulakhan-Kyuel being the biggest in the Lena's area.

Tributaries

Many smaller rivers flow into the Lena. The Kirenga runs north between the upper Lena and Lake Baikal. The Vitim drains the land northeast of Lake Baikal, and the Olyokma flows north too. The Amga makes a long curve and joins another river called the Aldan, which then flows into the Lena near Yakutsk. The Maya, a smaller river of the Aldan, almost reaches the Sea of Okhotsk. The Chona and Vilyuy rivers cover much of the land to the west.

The main rivers that join the Lena, from its start to where it ends, include:

• Tutura (right)
• Ilga (left)
• Kuta (left)
• Tayura (right)
• Kirenga (right)
• Pilyuda (left)
• Chechuy (right)
• Ichera (left)
• Chaya (right)
• Chuya (right)
• Vitim (right)
• Peleduy (left)
• Nyuya (left)
• Derba (left)
• Ura (left)
• Bolshoy Patom (right)
• Cherendey (left)
• Biryuk (left)
• Olyokma (right)
  • Chara
• Markha (left)
• Markhachan (left)
• Tuolba (right)
• Sinyaya (left)
• Buotama (right)
• Menda (right)
• Myla (right)
• Tamma (right)
• Lyutenge (right)
• Suola (right)
• Aldan (right)
• Batamay (right)
• Belyanka (right)
  • Munni
• Lyapiske (right)
• Tympylykan (left)
• Dyanyshka (right)
• Tyugyuene (left)
• Sitte (left)
• Khanchaly (left)
• Kenkeme (left)
• Lungkha (left)
• Namana (left)
• Vilyuy (left)
  • Chona
• Linde (left)
• Undyulyung (right)
• Nuora (left)
• Begidyan (right)
• Khoruongka (left)
• Sobolokh-Mayan (right)
• Kyuelenke (left)
• Muna (left)
• Menkere (right)
• Motorchuna (left)
• Molodo (left)
  • Syungyude
• Natara (right)
• Uel-Siktyakh (right)
• Kuranakh-Siktyakh (right)
• Byosyuke (right)
• Tikyan (right)
• Eyekit (left)
• Bulkur (left)

History

The Lena River may have gotten its name from an old phrase, "Elyu-Ene," meaning "the Large River."

Long ago, Russian explorers traveled up the Lena River. In the early 1600s, a group led by Demid Pyanda discovered the river and explored parts of it. Later, other groups reached the Lena, collected taxes from local people, and built settlements like Kirinsk and Yakutsk.

In 1881, some members of a lost expedition reached the Lena Delta and were helped by local people.

Some believe that Vladimir Lenin, a famous Russian leader, may have taken his name from the Lena River when he was sent to live far away in Siberia.

Delta

At the end of the Lena River, there is a big area called a delta. It stretches 100 kilometres into the Laptev Sea and is about 400 km wide. This delta is frozen tundra for about seven months every year. In May, it becomes a green wetland for a few months. Part of this area is protected as the Lena Delta Wildlife Reserve. The delta has many flat islands, such as Chychas Aryta and Petrushka.

Fish

The Lena River is in a quiet and remote part of the Russian Far East, so its fish are safe there. You can find fish like Siberian taimen, Siberian sturgeon, and Upper Yenisei grayling in the river.