The Olenyok River, Russia: description, natural world, mouth, source and interesting facts
The Olenyok River is considered one of the longest Siberian rivers. Its main course is in Yakutia, a small part in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. It will focus on the description of the river, curious facts associated with it.
Geographical location
The Olenyok River (Yakutia) is located beyond the Arctic Circle.
It has a harsh climate, pitch darkness for many months, kilometers of snowy expanses … The source of the Olenek River is located on the Central Siberian Plateau. This geographical area combines an alternation of ridges and plateaus. The plateau levels are constantly changing. In this section, the river has all the characteristics of a mountain, its flow is rapid, with changes in height.
The middle current runs along the Oleneksko-Vilyui plateau. The Olenek River is flat, it flows on a flat territory, sometimes the channel is branched. The upper and middle reaches have many drops that create obstacles for ships, as well as significant rapids. The lower reaches lie between the Chekanovsky Ridge and Pronchishchev, pass to the shores of the Laptev Sea, where the Olenek River passes into the Olenek Bay.
The bay is 65 km long and 130 km wide. This is the mouth of the Olenek River. A river delta is formed here, in which there are several large islands. The Olenek River is covered with ice until summer, the upper course freezes to the very bottom. In spring, it has a peak water level.
The river is fed during the melting of snow masses, as well as due to rains. Ground food is insignificant; during the frosty period, waters of this type are depleted. The river landscape is moss tundra, rare areas are covered with forests.
The deer is divided into several sections:
- the upper course is a section from the source to Arga-Sala;
- average – to Sukhana;
- lower – to the mouth.
The upper reaches flow in narrow valleys, gorges, the banks are winding, with bends. The channel does not have strong tortuosity for 200 km. Closer to the river Sukhana, the channel is straight, with bends. The lower course is straight, its width is 500-700 meters. The lower reaches of the river near the village of Olenek, 1000 meters wide. The total river length is 2300 km.
Tributaries and lakes
The largest tributary is the Arga-Sala, which is 554 km long. It flows through the lands of the Central Siberian plateau, it is formed by the Right and Left Arga-Sala. The river is characterized by many rapids.
Arga-Sala begins almost in the same place as Olenek, located a little to the left. Another tributary is the Bur River, which is located near the mouth of the Olenek River. The length of the Bura is 500 km. The next tributary is the Siligir, 344 km long.
Other tributaries (Birekte, Kuyoka, Unukit and others) are shorter. Of the large lakes, the following are known: Diesei – a lake of thermokarst type; Kieng-Kyuel is a glacial lake. There are 14 protected natural areas in the river basin, including reserves and natural monuments.
Flora and fauna
The vegetation in this area is rather sparse. These are deciduous forests, represented in small quantities. There are birch and spruce forests. The main part of the land is bare tundra, where reindeer lichen, lichens and slank grow.
Blueberries, bearberry, and wild rosemary grow from shrubs. You can rarely find rose hips, lingonberries, junipers, currants. The river is home to many types of fish that are caught on an industry scale. These are omul, nelma, vendace, muksun.
Of the large animals, foxes, wolves, hares, ermines live. Reindeer migrate across the river. The authorities are protecting this animal from extermination, experts are studying its migrations.
Interesting places
The attractions of these places are:
Beenchime-Salatinsky crater – a place on the right bank, formed as a result of a fallen meteorite, has a diameter of about 8 km;
Museum of Northern Peoples, operating in the village of Olenek; burial of the Pronchishchev spouses, participants of the Great Northern Expedition.
As a result of the Great Northern Expedition in the 18th century, a serious study of the Arctic was carried out, many peninsulas were discovered, and a map of these lands was compiled. Pronchishchev explored and described the coastline 500 kilometers long.
Climate and weather conditions
It has a long winter and a very short summer. The temperature range exceeds 90 degrees Celsius. The minimum recorded temperature is -72 degrees.
The average temperature in January is -36 degrees, in July – +15 degrees. This is the territory of permafrost.
Winter begins in early October and lasts seven months. It has little snow and is very cold. Frosts intensify at night. Ice fogs appear.
By December, the temperature is -40 degrees, January is the coldest month. At this time, the temperature can drop to -70 degrees. At the end of April, the snow begins to melt.
Summer begins in mid-July. It’s short and hot. It is warm during the day, the night brings a sharp cold snap. The bulk of precipitation falls in July-August. There is 350 mm of precipitation per year.