Lena River

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

The Lena River is very long, stretching 4,294 kilometers (2,668 miles). It is the eleventh-longest river in the world and the longest river that flows only through Russia. The river drains a huge 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 along the way: the Kirenga, the Vitim, and the Olyokma. After passing through Yakutsk, it turns north and then west, eventually 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 time when the river is free of ice and can be used for travel lasts about 70 days near the sea and 125 days in other parts.

Lena River from a source to Kachug
unnamed lake Tyrka Uhta 2nd Uhta 1st Pankukcha Shevukan Negnedai Anai River Anai Alilei Chanchur River Chanchur Kurungui Ilikta Kurungui River Maliy Tarel Birulka Ice bridge Birulka River Ushina Zhuya Bolshoi Kosogol Manzurka Khalsk R 148 Bolshiye Goly Iset R 148

Basin

The Lena River has a large area of 2,490,000 square kilometres (960,000 sq mi) and its water flow is very strong, moving 489 cubic kilometers every year. People find gold in the sands of two of its smaller rivers, the Vitim and the Olyokma, and even old mammoth tusks in the area 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 as well. The Amga makes a long curve and joins another river called the Aldan, which then flows into the Lena near a place called Yakutsk. The Maya, a smaller river of the Aldan, reaches almost to the Sea of Okhotsk. The Chona and Vilyuy rivers together 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.

In 1912, there was a sad event near Bodaybo where people were hurt during a protest about tough working conditions in a gold mine. This event helped create unrest in Russia at the time.

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 that stretches 100 kilometres (62 miles) into the Laptev Sea and is about 400 km (250 miles) wide. This delta is frozen tundra for about seven months every year, but 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, among others.

Fish

The Lena River is in a remote and undeveloped part of the Russian Far East, so its fish are well protected. Some of the fish you can find there are Siberian taimen, Siberian sturgeon, and Upper Yenisei grayling.