View source for Vilyuy

{{For|the highway|A331}}
{{Infobox river
| name              = Vilyuy
| other_name        =  Вилю́й / Бүлүү
| image             = Вилюйские_пороги.jpg
| map               = 
| image_caption     = Rapids on the Vilyuy in Central [[Sakha Republic|Sakha]]
| pushpin_map        = Russia Sakha Republic
| pushpin_map_caption= Location of the mouth in [[Sakha Republic|Yakutia]], Russia
| source1_location  = [[Vilyuy Plateau]]
| source1_coordinates = {{coord|65|57|46|N|103|30|47|E|source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:RU}} 
| source1_elevation = {{convert|520|m|abbr=on}}
| mouth             = [[Lena (river)|Lena]]
| mouth_location    = 
| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|64|22|38|N|126|24|54|E|source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:RU}}
| mouth_elevation   = {{convert|55|m|abbr=on}}
| progression       = {{RLena}}
| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_name1 = [[Russia]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[Federal subject]]s
| subdivision_name2 = [[Krasnoyarsk Krai]], [[Sakha Republic|Yakutia]]
| length            = {{convert|2650|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| discharge1_avg    = {{convert|1700|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}
| basin_size        = {{convert|454000|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}
}}
[[File:Vilyuy River Dam Chernyshevsky.jpg|thumb|[[Vilyuy Dam]] and a [[hydroelectric station]] on the river]]
The '''Vilyuy''' ({{lang-rus|Вилю́й|p=vʲɪˈlʲʉj}}; {{langx|sah|Бүлүү}}, ''Bülüü'', {{IPA|sah|bylyː|}}){{Citation needed|date=May 2011}} is a river in [[Russia]], the longest tributary of the [[Lena (river)|Lena]]. About {{convert|2650|km|mi}} long, it flows mostly within the [[Sakha Republic]]. Its basin covers about {{convert|454000|km2|mi2}}.<ref name=gvr>{{GVR|250781|Река ВИЛЮЙ}}</ref>

==History==
The river is first mentioned in the 17th century in connection with the [[Russian conquest of Siberia]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}}

In the 1950s, [[diamond]] deposits were discovered in the area, about {{convert|700|km|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.<ref name=bse>A. Gavrilov, [https://bse.sci-lib.com/article005066.html Вилюй] in: [[Great Russian Encyclopedia]].</ref>

==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 {{convert|350|km|mi}} downstream of [[Yakutsk]], near [[Sangar, Sakha Republic|Sangar]]. The [[Ust-Vilyuy Range]] rises above the facing bank of the [[Lena (river)|Lena]], opposite the mouth of the Vilyuy.<ref>[https://wikimapia.org/35048117/ru/%D0%A5%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B1%D0%B5%D1%82-%D0%A3%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C-%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%8E%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9 Хребет Усть-Вилюйский - Wikimapia]</ref>

To the west of the Vilyuy and [[Chona]] is the [[Nizhnyaya Tunguska]] basin.
The Vilyuy basin is sparsely populated. Small settlements along the river include [[Vilyuysk]], [[Verkhnevilyuysk]], [[Suntar (rural locality)|Suntar]], [[Ekonda]] and [[Nyurba]].

===Tributaries===
The main tributaries of the Vilyuy are the [[Ulakhan-Vava]], [[Chirkuo]], [[Chona]], [[Chybyda]], [[Ulakhan-Botuobuya]], [[Ochchuguy-Botuobuya]], {{ill|Tangnary|ru|Тангнары}}, [[Kempendyay (river)|Kempendyay]], [[Tonguo]] and [[Bappagay]] on the right; and the [[Sen (river)|Sen]], [[Lakharchana]], [[Akhtaranda]], [[Ygyatta]], [[Markha (Vilyuy)|Markha]], [[Tyukyan]], and [[Tyung]] on the left.<ref name=bse/>

==Geology==
Vilyuy is associated with geological formations Yakutsk-Vilyuy Rift (Vilyuy Rift Basin) and Yakutsk-Vilyuy LIP ([[large igneous province]]), also known as Vilyuy Traps.<ref>[https://www.mantleplumes.org/SiberianDykeExtension.html Time correlation between the formation of dyke swarms and crustal extension stages in the Middle Paleozoic Vilyui rift basin, Siberian platform]</ref>
{|
|- valign="top" 
|[[File:Vilyuyrivermap.png|thumb|270px|Location of the Vilyuy River course.]]
|}

==See also==
*[[List of rivers of Russia]]
*[[Tukulan]], sand dunes
*[[Late Devonian extinction#Volcanism]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}
*[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9075403/Vilyuy-River Encyclopædia Britannica]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Rivers of Krasnoyarsk Krai]]
[[Category:Rivers of the Sakha Republic]]
[[Category:Tributaries of the Lena]]
[[Category:Central Yakutian Lowland]]