Lena River
The Lena River is the tenth longest river in the world.
The Lena River at 2,734 miles is the 10th longest river in the world and 3rd longest river in Siberia, Russia after the Yenisei and Ob Rivers. The Lena originates in the Baikal Mountains south of the Central Siberian Plateau and west of Lake Baikal and flows northeast until it empties in the Laptev Sea and Arctic Ocean south-west of the New Siberian Islands by the Lena Delta.
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Along the Lena’s course lie forests, meadows, valleys, and rocky hills.
The Lena River area has been explored since the 1600’s largely due to the rich mineral deposits, especially gold, which are found in the area.
The Kirenga, Vitim, Olyokma, Amga, Aldan and Vilyuy Rivers are the main tributaries of the Lena River. The Lena is navigable by small boats in sections below Kachug and by larger vessels below Ust-Kut .
Ports along the Lena include Bulun, Zhigansk, Yakutsk, Vitim, Kirensk, Osetrovo, Zhigalovo, and Kachug. Timber, furs, gold, mica, industrial products, and food are the main cargoes shipped along the Lena.
Within the Yakut Lowland, various Crops grown in the Lena basin include barley, oats, wheat, potatoes and cucumbers. Its large meadows and pastures support livestock raising. The Lena basin has large deposits of coal and natural gas, and gold and other precious metals have been mined in the area for many years. In 1955 rich deposits of diamonds were discovered in the Vilyuy basin. Near Olyokminsk are salt beds, and to the south of Yakutsk are deposits of iron ore and coking coal. Mammoth tusks have been dug out of the Lena Delta.
Swans, divers, geese, ducks, plovers, sandpipers, snipes, phalaropes, terns, skuas, birds of prey, passerines (songbirds), and gulls are some of the migratory birds that breed in the Lena basin wetlands. The rich delta also supports abundant populations of fish and five marine mammals. Species found in the delta include the Arctic, tugun, sardine, peled, and muksun ciscos, as well as broad whitefish. It is believed that the ciscos species originated in the Lena. Spawning fish reported from the delta include Arctic lamprey and burbot.
A protected area called the Lena Delta Reserve
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was expanded in 1995 making it the largest protected area in Russia (24,400 square miles). The area faces increasing environmental concerns going forward as the Lena River basin continues to be opened up to industrialization.
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Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov better known as Lenin, the principal leader of the October Revolution and the first head of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, likely took the name Lenin from the Lena River.
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One Response to “Lena River”
On February 26, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Siberia is cold!
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