Olyokma


The Olyokma is a tributary of the Lena in eastern Siberia.

History

In the summer of 1631, Russian pioneer Pyotr Beketov entered the Olyokma during his first voyage down the Lena and in 1636 he founded the present-day city of Olyokminsk near the mouth of the river on the left bank of Lena.
Yerofey Khabarov used this river's route to travel from the Lena to the Amur during his mid-17th century expeditions.

Course

The river is long, and has a drainage basin of. The Olyokma rises in the Muroy Range, Olyokma-Stanovik Highlands, west of Mogocha. It flows north through remote terrain before joining the Lena near Olyokminsk.
To the west is the Vitim, to the south the Shilka and Amur, and to the east the upper Aldan. Its right tributary, the, leads to a portage to the Shilka. Other tributaries are the and the Chara.