View source for Olyokma

{{other uses}}
{{Infobox river
  | name              = Olyokma<br />{{langx|sah|Өлүөхүмэ}}
  | image             = Olyokma river.jpg
  | image_size        = 
  | image_caption     = View of the river
  | pushpin_map        = Russia Sakha Republic
  | pushpin_map_size   = 
  | pushpin_map_caption= Location in the [[Sakha Republic]], Russia
  | source1 = [[Muroy Range]], [[Olyokma-Stanovik]]
  | source1_location  = [[Tungiro-Olyokminsky District]], [[Zabaykalsky Krai]]
  | source1_coordinates = {{coord|53|44|42|N|117|20|16|E|source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:RU}} 
  | source1_elevation = {{convert|1500|m|abbr=on}}
  | mouth = [[Lena (river)|Lena]]
  | mouth_location    = [[Troitsk, Olyokminsky District, Sakha Republic|Troitsk]], Yakutia
  | mouth_coordinates  = {{coord|60|22|27|N|120|40|40|E|source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:RU}} 
  | mouth_elevation   =  {{convert|115|m|abbr=on}}
  | progression       = {{RLena}}
  | subdivision_type1 = Country
  | subdivision_name1 = [[Russia]]
  | subdivision_type2 = Region
  | subdivision_name2 = [[Zabaykalsky Krai]], [[Sakha Republic|Yakutia]]
  | length            = {{convert|1436|km|abbr=on}} 
  | discharge1_avg    = {{convert|2110|m3/s|abbr=on}}
  | basin_size        = {{convert|210000|km2|abbr=on}}
}}
The '''Olyokma''' ({{langx|ru|Олёкма}}, {{Transliteration|ru|''Olyokma''}}, {{IPA|ru|ɐˈlʲɵkmə|IPA}};<ref name=KNAB/> {{langx|sah|Өлүөхүмэ}}, {{Transliteration|sah|''Ölüöxüme''}}<ref name=KNAB/>) is a [[tributary]] of the [[Lena (river)|Lena]] in eastern [[Siberia]].

The river gives its name to the [[Olyokma-Chara Plateau]], located to the west of its western bank.<ref>[http://tapemark.narod.ru/geograf/4_2_7.html Физическая география СССР - Ландшафтные области гор Южной Сибири - Байкальско-Становая область]</ref>

==History==
In the summer of 1631, Russian pioneer [[Pyotr Beketov]] entered the Olyokma during his first voyage down the [[Lena (river)|Lena]] and in 1636 he founded the present-day city of [[Olyokminsk]] near the mouth of the river on the left bank of Lena.<ref name="ЭСБЕ"/>

[[Yerofey Khabarov]] used this river's route to travel from the Lena to the [[Amur River|Amur]] during his mid-17th century expeditions. In the spring of 1649 Khabarov set off at his own expense up the Olyokma, then up its tributary, the [[Tungir]] and [[portage]]d to the [[Shilka River]], reaching the upper Amur ([[Transbaikal|Dauria]]) in early 1650.<ref name=KNAB>{{cite web|url=http://www.eki.ee/knab/p_mm_en.htm |title=KNAB, the Place Names Database of EKI |publisher=Eki.ee |access-date=2013-01-01}}</ref>

==Course==
The river is {{convert|1436|km}} long, and has a [[drainage basin]] of {{convert|210000|km2}}.<ref name=gvr>{{GVR|241279|Река Олёкма}}</ref> The Olyokma rises in the [[Muroy Range]], [[Olyokma-Stanovik|Olyokma-Stanovik Highlands]] (Олёкминский Становик), west of [[Mogocha]]. It flows through remote terrain and cuts across the [[Kalar Range]] of the [[Stanovoy Highlands]] through a narrow valley. Further north, it bends around the eastern end of the [[Udokan Range]] and flows roughly north before joining the Lena near [[Olyokminsk]].<ref>[http://textual.ru/gvr/index.php?card=241279 Russian State Water Register - Olyokma River]</ref>

To the west flows the [[Vitim (river)|Vitim]], to the south the [[Shilka River|Shilka]] and Amur, and to the east the upper [[Aldan River|Aldan]]. Its main tributaries are the [[Tungir]], the [[Nyukzha]] and the [[Chara (river)|Chara]] —with its tributary the [[Tokko (river)|Tokko]].<ref name="ЭСБЕ">''Олёкма'' // [[Great Soviet Encyclopedia]], in 30 vols.  / Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov . - 3rd ed. - M., 1969-197</ref>
{|
|- valign="top" 
|[[File:Olyokmarivermap.png|thumb|270px|River location]]
|[[File:Olekma.png|thumb|200px|Olyokma basin.]]
|}

==See also==
*[[List of rivers of Russia]]
*[[Olyokma Nature Reserve]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{commons category-inline}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Portal bar|Russia}}

[[Category:Rivers of the Sakha Republic]]


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