Vilyuy
Vilyuy is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 63.19°, 114.66°
About Vilyuy
The Vilyuy (Russian: Вилю́й, IPA: [vʲɪˈlʲʉj]; Yakut: Бүлүү, Bülüü, [bylyː]) is a river in Russia, the longest tributary of the Lena. About 2,650 kilometres (1,650 mi) long, it flows mostly within the Sakha Republic. Its basin covers about 454,000 square kilometres (175,000 mi2).
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Vilyuy (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Vilyuy in Depth
Geography
The Vilyuy has its sources in the Vilyuy Plateau, part of the Central Siberian Plateau, in the Evenkiysky District (Krasnoyarsk Krai) and, flowing east, soon enters Sakha. It turns towards the south and southeast in the Central Yakutian Lowland, then back towards the east, and finally enters the Lena about 350 kilometres (220 mi) downstream of Yakutsk, near Sangar. The Ust-Vilyuy Range rises above the facing bank of the Lena, opposite the mouth of the Vilyuy.
The Vilyuy basin is sparsely populated. Small settlements along the river include Vilyuysk, Verkhnevilyuysk, Suntar, Ekonda and Nyurba.
History
Early mentions of the river are dated by the first half of the 17th century in connection with the Russian conquest of Siberia, when the Верхне-Вилюйское зимовье winter settlement (zimovye) was established, which gave rise to the town of Vilyuysk.
In the 1950s, diamond deposits were discovered in the area, about 700 kilometres (430 mi) from its mouth. This led to the construction of the Mir Mine, together with access roads and an airport, and the Vilyuy Dam complex to generate power needed for the diamond concentrators.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Vilyuy (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Vilyuy: Key Facts
| Length | 2,650 km |
|---|---|
| Average discharge | 1,468 m³/s |
| Drainage basin | 454,000 km² |
| Source | Central Siberian Plateau |
| Mouth | Lena River |
| Drainage system | Lena basin |
| Tributaries | Ygyatta, Markha, Tyukyan, Tyung, Ulakhan-Vava, Chona, Bappagay River, Tangnary River |
Facts from Wikidata Q26433 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Vilyuy: Quick Answers
- Where is Vilyuy?
- Vilyuy is located in Russia, at 63.1867° N, 114.6616° E.
- Are there dams on the Vilyuy?
- No dam on the Vilyuy is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.