The meaning of the Lena River for humans. Lena is the largest river system in Siberia

Lena is a majestic and mighty river, one of the largest water arteries Asia, collects its waters from the vast expanses of Siberia. Its basin is entirely within one state - Russia. In this article you will find short description the Lena River, in particular its geographical location, water regime and features of navigation on it.

Plan for describing the Lena River

All rivers are usually described according to a certain algorithm, which includes several mandatory aspects. It provides for a comprehensive description of the watercourse according to individual components. So, the plan for describing the Lena River in our article will look like this:

The name of the river, as well as the history of its origin.
Geography of the river ( geographical location, source and mouth, area of the river basin, structure of the river system, enumeration major tributaries and so on.).
Hydrology of the river (average monthly water flow, features of the water regime, freezing and opening of the watercourse, etc.).
Specifics economic use rivers by people (population of the banks, shipping, large ports and bridges on the river, and banks, etc.).

Lena River: brief description

The Lena rounds out the top ten longest rivers in the world (4270 km). This is one of the largest waterways in Russia. This river has one amazing feature: it freezes in one direction (from the mouth to the upper reaches), and opens in the opposite direction.

It would be logical to begin the description of the Lena River with an explanation of the history of the origin of its name. Oddly enough, but it is not at all connected with female name. This hydrotoponym has Evenki roots and originally it sounded like “yelyu-ene”, which translated means “ big river"Over time, this name was transformed in Russian pronunciation to the more familiar-sounding word "Lena".

Geography of the river

A description of Lena, a river flowing through the expanses of Siberia, will be incomplete without a detailed description of its geographical location. Where does it originate, in what direction does it flow and where does it end?

The Lena and all its numerous tributaries collect their waters from vast territories Eastern Siberia. This is approximately 2500 thousand square kilometers. The river originates from a small lake, which, in turn, is practically a neighbor of Lake Baikal. In its upper reaches, the Lena carries its waters through the dissected territories of the mountainous Cis-Baikal region. The middle course of the river differs in one way most interesting feature. Here the Lena has absolutely asymmetrical banks: the left is low and flat, and the right is represented by the steep and steep edge of the Patom Highlands.

The Lena flows into the In the lower reaches it is already a gigantic watercourse, which reaches a width of 10 kilometers! At a distance of 150 kilometers from the mouth of the Lena, a wide delta formed.

On its long path to the sea, the river receives a myriad of tributaries. However, the largest and most significant among them are four: Aldan, Vilyuy, Vitim and Olekma.

River hydrology

Features of the hydrological regime are one of the main aspects that is included in any physical and geographical description of the river. Lena is fed by snow and rainwater. It is characterized by powerful spring floods, which account for about 40% of the total runoff, several summer floods and low autumn-winter low water.

The maximum monthly average was recorded in June, reaching 60,000 m 3 /sec.

A very powerful sight is the spring ice drift on the Lena, which, as a rule, is accompanied by violent traffic jams. The river begins to open in April in the upper reaches, and ends in June near the mouth.

Population of river banks and shipping

The economic use of the river is quite weak, since the Lena flows through an extremely sparsely populated area. Along its riverbed there are only 6 small towns. The largest of them, Yakutsk, has a population of only 300 thousand people. Sailing along the river, you can see nothing but the deep taiga for hundreds of kilometers.

There are only 4 bridges along the entire length of the Lena. In populated areas, Siberians cross the river using ferries or winter roads.

Surprisingly, Yakutia is one of those regions of the Earth where the river is the main transport artery. It is the Lena that is the most important highway in this area, along which people, raw materials and goods are transported. The navigation period lasts about 150 days a year. The main ports on the river are the following:

Sangar.
Yakutsk
Pokrovsk
Olekminsk.
Lensk.
Kirensk.
Osetrovo.

Finally...

Lena is one of the largest river systems in Russia, which is entirely located within its borders. In addition, it is also the most important transport route in Siberia, connecting its few towns and villages.

The brief description of the Lena River proposed in this article gives us a comprehensive and clear idea of its main geographical features, water regime and level of economic development.

Lena- the largest river in Siberia, and throughout Russia, flows into the Laptev Sea. The tenth longest river in the world, flows through the territory of Yakutia Irkutsk region, some of its tributaries belong to the Krasnoyarsk, Khabarovsk, Transbaikal region and to the Republic of Buryatia. The length of the river excluding tributaries is 4,400 km, the basin area is 2,490 thousand km2. The main food consists of melted snow and rainwater. You can read more about the Lena pool.

River flow

The source of the Lena is a small swamp located 12 kilometers away on the Baikal ridge. The upper course of the river is in the mountainous Cis-Baikal region, here it is relatively narrow and not wide. The middle course is the section between the Vitima and Aldana rivers. After the confluence of Vitim, Lena becomes huge full-flowing river with a depth of up to 20 meters, the valley expands to up to 20 km. Dense trees grow on both sides coniferous forests. From Olekma to Aldan, not a single large tributary flows into the Lena; all these 500 km it flows in a narrow and deep valley. After the city of Pokrovsk there is a sharp expansion of the valley. After Yakutsk, two large tributaries flow into it - Aldan and Vilyui. Now it is a gigantic water stream up to 10 km wide, and in some places it overflows up to 20-30 and up to 20 meters deep. In the lower reaches the river is very narrow on all sides, and mountains and ridges prevent it from overflowing. At the mouth, about 150 km from the sea, the vast Lena delta begins.

Occupancy

The banks of the Lena River are deserted, there are practically no settlements. A large number of settlements are observed only in the Yakutsk region. There are many abandoned villages and rotational camps.

Most big cities This:

Ust-Kut
Kirensk
Lensk
Olekminsk
Pokrovsk
Yakutsk
Zhigansk

Shipping

Lena is one of the main transport arteries of Yakutia. In conditions of bad roads, waterways become very important. The main part of the “northern delivery” is carried out along this river. Navigation starts from the Kachug pier. Unfortunately, below the settlement of Ust-Kut and before the confluence of the Vitim tributary with the Lena River there are a lot of shallow and difficult areas for navigation. Every year, work is carried out to deepen the Lena riverbed.

The navigation period lasts from 125 to 170 days. The largest ports on the Lena:

Osetrovo
Kirensk
Lensk
Yakutsk

Change of channel

Scientists from the National French Center scientific research, as well as scientists from the Institute of Permafrost Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the University of Alaska, described and found that warming has a negative impact on the Lena River.
In this area, in winter the temperature of the surrounding area drops to -70 degrees, the thickness of the permafrost reaches 1.5 km. Scientists have discovered that over the past forty years average temperature the air rose by four degrees, and the soil temperature by one degree Celsius. Water temperatures in spring and summer rose by two degrees.
Every year the flood becomes more and more powerful, plus during ice drift the banks are subjected to very strong thermal and mechanical effects and as a result are destroyed. In addition, due to accelerating erosion processes, the islands, consisting mainly of silt and sand, are gradually moving towards the lower reaches of the river. In 2009 average speed migration of the islands reached 27 meters per year.

Main tributaries of the Lena

Aldan
Olekma
Vilyui
Kirenga
Young
Tuolba
Buotama
Blue

The largest of them are the Aldan and Vitim rivers.

Briefly

Researchers suggest that the name of the river comes from the Tungus-Manchu “Yelyu-Ene”, which translates as “big river”
The river was discovered by Russians in 1619-1623, by the explorer Pyanda
Lena is the main transport artery of Yakutia
Because of global warming Lena changes direction.
The Lena is the 10th longest among all the rivers in the world, with a length of 4400 km.
On part of the right bank of the river there is a national natural Park Lena pillars

Main characteristics of the Lena River:

The length of the River is 4400 km.
Basin area - 2,490 thousand km2
The maximum width of the floodplain is 30 km.
Maximum depth - 21 m.

The Lena River is the most large river on the eastern side of Siberia, which flows into the Laptev Sea. And this is not the only achievement of the river in terms of scale. In addition to the mentioned fact, the place where the Lena River is located is the tenth longest river in the world and the eighth largest river in terms of flow.

The Lena River flows in Yakutia and the Irkutsk region, in particular.
A distinctive feature of the river is its freezing. It freezes not as is customary with all other rivers, but in the reverse order in relation to its opening - from its lower reaches to its upper reaches.

Geographical features of the Lena River

The length of the river is 4,400 kilometers. total area The basin ranges around 2,490 square kilometers. There are three sections of the river relative to its flow.

Current of the Lena River

Despite its great scale, the source of the river is only a small swamp. It is here that the majestic Lena River originates. The swamp is located twelve kilometers from Lake Baikal on one of its ridges.

The upper reaches of the Lena River are located in the mountainous area of Cisbaikalia. The middle course of the river is a certain segment between two rivers - Aldana and Vitim. After the Vitim River flows into the Lena River, it becomes a full-fledged deep-water river.

In some places, under such circumstances, its depth can reach twenty meters. These places are surrounded coniferous vegetation and forests. Starting from the Olekma River to the Aldan River, not a single truly large tributary flows into the Lena River. At a given length of 500 kilometers, the place where the Lena River is located is a river that flows lonely but majestically through a narrow but deep valley.

As soon as the river reaches the city of Pokrovsk, its borders expand sharply. After Lena overcomes Yakutsk, Vilyuy and Aldan immediately flow into it. After this moment, the Lena River turns into a wide, powerful river up to ten kilometers in size. In some places it can reach a width of up to twenty and even thirty kilometers.

Navigation on the Lena River

When asking yourself the question whether there is navigation in this place where the Lena River is located, you should not even think for a second about a negative answer. Of course it is! Moreover, the Lena River is one of the main transport arteries in Yakutia. Such a solution is especially relevant in conditions Russian roads, and sometimes even their complete absence.

Tributaries of the Lena River

The main and dominant tributaries include the rivers Chaya, Aldan, Olekma, Vitim, Vilyui, Kuta, Chuya, Molodo, Kirenga, Buotama and the Sinaya River.

To live or not to live? That is the question!

The river bank itself is completely deserted. Even if you come across any buildings and houses while crossing or traveling with a guide, you should not assume that someone lives there. All the houses on the banks of the Lena are abandoned and have been empty for a long time.

Sights of the Lena River

Of course, it is logical to assume that any person who goes to admire the river already knows that the main attraction of that area is the Lena River itself, especially when this is the case. One of the most unforgettable trips, which you will remember for a long time, is a cruise on a motor ship along the river bed where the Lena River is located.

In addition to the standard rolled on cruise ship, You will be able to experience all the delights of life local people: fishing, hunting, as well as climbing to the famous Lenin Pillars. You can feel the joy of travel during the period from June 1 to September 25.

Lena is the largest river North-Eastern Siberia, flows into the Laptev Sea. Length 4400 km (10th place in the world), basin area 2490 thousand km².
The Lena is the longest river in the world that flows entirely in the permafrost zone.

Main tributaries: Vitim, Olekma, Aldan, Vilyui. It mainly flows through the territory of Yakutia, some of the Lena tributaries belong to the Irkutsk and Chita regions and the Republic of Buryatia.

The source of the Lena is located in the northwestern slopes of the Baikal ridge. This is a very small, unnamed lake, lying at an altitude of 930 m above sea level, 10-12 km from Lake Baikal. In the upper reaches of the Lena flows among the mountains along the bottom of a deep and narrow valley, in winter it freezes almost to the bottom, and in dry and hot summers it almost dries up; its depth barely reaches, and even then not everywhere, up to half a meter. But soon, having received the first tributaries, the Lena becomes a raftable river.

The Kachuga pier is considered the beginning of navigation on the Lena, however, only small ships pass along it up to Osetrovo, and only below it does the “real water road” to the ocean begin. The entire upper reaches of the Lena (up to Vitim), that is, almost a third of its length, falls in the mountainous Cisbaikalia region.

The first information about the great east river penetrated the Russians living in Siberia at the beginning of the 17th century. Small detachments of Cossacks set off to the east one after another, carrying out reconnaissance of an unknown land. In 1628, the Cossack Vasily Bugor and his detachment set out on a long journey. Having climbed up the Angara, they reached Ilim, from there they crossed the watershed “on foot” and along the Kuta River reached the Lena. A few years later, this path was repeated by the centurion Pyotr Beketov. His detachment installed the first houses at the mouth of Kuta. This was the beginning of the city of Ust-Kut, where a little later the explorer Erofey Pavlovich Khabarov set up the first saltworks. Most researchers believe that the name of the river is the Tungus-Manchu (Even-Evenki) “Yelyu-Ene”, modified by the Russians, which means “Big River”.

The Lena in its upper reaches is fast, winding, and sometimes rapids. Its shores are composed of strong crystalline rocks. More than one millennium passed until frost, sun, wind, and rain carved fanciful towers, battlements, and “fortress walls” into the rocks. The figures created by nature in places where red sandstones are exposed are especially diverse. Huge, majestic cliffs, the so-called Lena Pillars, rise along its banks below Kirensk, reaching a height of 200-300 m.

Compressed on both sides by rocks, the Lena foams and seethes on the “Devil’s Path” riffle, hits the “Drunken Bull” rocks with force... The narrowest and most dangerous places for navigation are called “Cheeks”. After accepting the Kirenga, a large and high-water tributary, from the right, the Lena itself becomes noticeably more water-rich, its depths increase to 10 m, and the flow slows down somewhat.

The right tributary of the Lena, the Vitim, which ends its upper course, begins east of Baikal, in the mountains of the Vitim Plateau. It is a large river, almost 2,000 km long, collecting water from an area of 225,000 km. The Vitim valley is narrow, in places resembling a gap; Rapids and rapids are scattered throughout the river. Big number rapids impede the development of navigation on Vitim, and regular ship traffic occurs only 300 km to the city of Bodaibo, a gold-mining area.

The middle current includes its section between the mouths of the Vitima and Aldana rivers, 1,415 km long. Throughout almost this entire section, the Lena flows in a close latitudinal direction and, somewhat short of Yakutsk, turns sharply to the north.

Near the confluence of the Vitim, the Lena enters Yakutia and flows along it to the very mouth. Having accepted Vitim, Lena turns into a very large, high-water river. Depths increase to 10-12 m, the channel expands, and numerous islands appear in it, overgrown with grass or small clumps of forest. The bedrock slopes recede, the valley expands to 20-30 km, a wide floodplain and several terraces appear. The valley is asymmetrical: the left slope is lower; the right one, represented by the northern edge of the Patom Highlands, is steeper and higher. On both slopes there are dense coniferous forests, only occasionally replaced by meadows.

Between Vitim and Olekma the Lena does not receive large tributaries. The tributaries Bolshoi Patom on the right and Nyuya on the left flow for quite a long time among dense forests on rocky banks parallel to the Lena before joining it.

About 150 km from the sea, the vast Lena delta begins. At its beginning rises the island of Stolbovoy - a remnant washed away by water from one of the forts of the Kharaulakh ridge. The Lena Delta is one of the largest in the world - even larger than huge delta Nile and covers an area of 30,000 km. Countless islands, islets, channels and lakes, low, flooded during floods, constantly changing shape... Only three main channels reach the sea without interruption: the westernmost - Olenekskaya, the middle - Trofimovskaya and the eastern - Bykovskaya. They are all navigable, but highest value has Bykovskaya, 130 km long, along which ships approach Tiksi Bay, on the shore of which there is the sea gate of Yakutia - the port of Tiksi.

The banks of the Lena are very sparsely populated. From village to village, the taiga stretches for hundreds of kilometers, and only as you approach Yakutsk do you feel the revival: the villages are becoming more frequent, motor boats and barges go up and down the river, and large passenger ships are more common. The river is the main transport artery of Yakutia, the beginning of navigation on the Lena is considered to be the Kachuga pier, however, only small ships pass along it up to Osetrovo, and only below it does the “real water road” to the ocean begin.

The main nutrition of the Lena, as well as almost all of its tributaries, is melted snow and rainwater. The widespread occurrence of permafrost interferes with the supply of groundwater to rivers. Due to the general precipitation regime, the Lena is characterized by spring floods, several fairly high floods in summer and low autumn-winter low water. Spring ice drift is very powerful and is often accompanied by large ice jams. Lena freezes in the reverse order of opening - from the lower reaches to the upper reaches.

The Lena is the largest river in Siberia. It is quite big by world standards. On the list of the most long rivers of our planet, it ranks tenth. The length of Lena is four thousand four hundred kilometers. The drainage basin is located over an area of almost two and a half thousand square kilometers. A majestic river flows through the territory of the Irkutsk region and Yakutia.

Geographical position

The upper reaches of the river, as well as significant areas of the basins belonging to its right tributaries, are located in the mountainous regions of Transbaikalia, Baikal region, as well as on the Aldan Highlands. Most of its left-bank basin is located in the region of the Central Siberian Plateau. The lowest section runs through the Central Yakut Lowland.

Division

There are three main areas in Lena. The first one is the top one. It runs from its source to its confluence with the Middle Section and ends where the Lena meets the river. Aldan. In the third, lower segment, the river carries its waters to the mouth.

In the upper reaches, the Lena regime is stormy and fast. This zone has all the features characteristic of mountain rivers. The water flow is rapid and the channel is winding. Many places have rapids. At the same time, the shores are rocky and high. In the upper reaches, the water flow foams and bubbles, rapidly moving to the north.

The regime of the wayward and mighty river changes on the approach to Kirensk. Here the Lena receives the waters of its tributary river. Kirengi and calms down a little. Its channel becomes wider and deeper (in some places this value is ten meters). The rocky shores are receding. The stones are replaced by mighty cedars and tall pines, spruces and firs. Larch also grows here.

The river acquires even greater power after Olekma, its right tributary, flows into it. Further to Aldan, the Lena flows along the Prilensky plateau. Here its banks have peculiar and extremely steep slopes.

The middle flow ends after the Lena meets its right tributary, the Aldan. In this place great river Siberia forms numerous channels with small islands.

In the lower reaches, the Lena overflows to its full extent. In these places it shows all the power and grandeur of the Siberian river, which cannot but arouse admiration and delight.

Nutrition

Fifty percent of its annual income comes from melting snow cover, as well as precipitation in the form of rain. Additional Lena rivers - groundwater. From them it receives one or two percent of its flow. Thus, the feeding type of the Lena River is mixed. But not only the listed sources increase the flow of the majestic Siberian beauty.

The sources of nutrition of the Lena River are also all its tributaries. This list includes Aldan and Chaya, Vitin and Olekma, Kuta and Vilyui, Kirenga and Molodo, Chuya and Tuolba, Buotama and Sinaya. Tributaries have different sizes. The largest of them are the Vitim and Aldan rivers.

The feed of the tributaries mainly consists of waters formed as a result of melting snow and precipitation. Some flow of runoff also occurs from soil layers. However, its volume is very small, since in the area where the river flows there is a permafrost zone. The only exceptions are those areas where geothermal sources are located.

Thus, the type of feeding of the Lena River and its tributaries is the same. Moreover, it belongs to the mixed type.

The nutrition and regime of the Lena River are closely interrelated. Moreover, they depend on the general precipitation regime. The Lena estuary is characterized by extensive spring floods. The river floods and summer period. At this time, high floods are observed there several times. But the autumn-winter low water level at the mouth is low.

The nutrition and regime of the Lena River changes dramatically in the spring. During this period, there is a powerful ice drift and snow cover melts. During a flood, the estuary area can reach levels above 250,000 cubic meters per second.

Water content

The water regime of the Lena River is characterized by high floods. In spring, the water level changes by an average of ten to fifteen meters. In the lower reaches this value reaches eighteen meters. The regime of the Lena River in summer depends on the amount of precipitation. At the same time, rain floods are observed several times. Low flow is typical in winter.

According to the water content indicator among Russian rivers Lena is in second place. In terms of the volume of its flow, it is second only to the Yenisei.

The regime of the Lena River is characterized by an average annual flow rate at the mouth equal to seventeen thousand cubic meters per second. In this case, the maximum figure is 200,000, and the minimum is 366.

The type of water regime of the Lena River is preserved along its entire length. However, despite this, water flow rates have their own values in different areas. Thus, above Kirenga, the average annual water flow is at around 480 cubic meters per second. At the confluence of the Lena river. Vitim this value is 1700. At the mouths of Olekma, Aldan and Vilyui, respectively, 4500, 6800 and 12,100 cubic meters per second. But in the Laptev Sea, where the Lena carries its waters, the annual flow is about five hundred and forty cubic kilometers.

Suspend

Together with the waters of the Lena River, forty-one million tons of various dissolved substances enter the Laptev Sea annually. Suspended sediments are also transported. About twelve million tons of them end up in the sea every year. is in the range of 50-60 grams per cubic meter. But the mineralization rate is 80-100 milligrams per liter.

Freeze-up

During the cold periods of the year, a drop in water levels is observed, and the regime of the Lena River changes radically. During this period, its surface is frozen. The river flows freely for five to six months during the year in the south and four to five months in the north. In the tributaries of the Lena, freeze-up sets in somewhat earlier. The river itself is frozen ten days later.

Freeze-up in the upper reaches sets in at the end of October. In the lower one - a month earlier. Ice break-up may last in the upper reaches until mid-May, and in the lower reaches until early June.

The regime of the Lena River changes dramatically during the spring ice drift. During this period, congestion occurs, which significantly raises the water level.

Thermal mode

Water temperature indicators along the entire length of the Lena River have significant differences. Average monthly indicators in the upper and middle reaches are at plus nineteen. But during cold periods (from November to April) the water temperature is on average zero.

As for the lower reaches of the river, here the average monthly indicators are slightly lower. IN warm months they do not exceed seventeen degrees. The period with a zero mark lasts significantly longer. It starts in October and ends in May.

The temperature regime of the Lena River in the upper section of its delta has minimal values. In this regard, the longest period of water cover with ice is observed in this zone.

The spring flood on the Lena River lasts on average thirty-five days. Moreover, in the upper reaches this period is the shortest. It is twenty-seven days. In the lower reaches of the river, spring floods can last up to forty-four days.

Ecological problems

Global warming, which is last years observed on our planet, has Negative influence to the river. In the territory where it flows, over the past forty years there has been an increase annual temperature air by four degrees. In this regard, spring floods become much more powerful. This destroys the banks of the river. In addition, the islands move along the river. Already in 2009, the speed of their descent was recorded, which amounted to twenty-seven meters per year.

Economic use

Lena is one of the most clean rivers on our planet. In addition, its course has not been changed by humans. Currently, not a single dam, hydroelectric power station, or other water structures have been built on the Lena. In places far from settlements, the water is so pure that you can drink it directly from the river.

As we see, unique nature these places are practically preserved. This is due to the fact that it is not carried out very intensively. This factor is influenced by the lack large quantities settlements, as well as various hydraulic structures. Despite this, Lena serves as the main transport artery located on the territory of Yakutia. It is navigable from the Kachuga tributary to its mouth. The channel to Ust-Kut can only be passed by vessels with shallow draft. The navigation period lasts about one hundred and sixty days in the upper reaches of the river, and one hundred and twenty in its lower reaches. The main marinas are Yakutsk and Zhigansk, Vitim and Lenek, Budun and Kirensk, Kachug and Zhigalovo, Olekminsk and Osetrovo. Some tributaries of the Lena are also navigable. Among them are Vitim and Olekma, Kirenga and Vilyui, as well as Aldan.

Mining is carried out. Gold-bearing areas and diamond deposits were found in this territory. The Lena basin is rich rock salt and iron ore, mica and natural gas. Fishing is developed in the lower reaches of the river. Burbot and omul, Siberian vendace and muksun are found here.