Today it is difficult to find places on the map that have not been touched by civilization. Nevertheless, they exist. Such protected areas include the amazing Siberian river Olenek, located in the northwestern part of Yakutia.
River source, direction and mouth
Olenyok originates on the slopes of Mount Yankan, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. From there, the river carries its waters in the direction of the east, gradually changing course to the northeast. On its way, which is 2270 kilometers, it first crosses the Central Siberian Plateau, which is characterized by depressions and rises up to 600 meters. Here the river is quite winding, has many rapids and rifts. Among them, the most famous and difficult to pass is Ukoyan. The river then flows through a hilly tundra plain. The main part of its basin, the total area of which is more than 200 thousand square kilometers, is located beyond the Arctic Circle. The mouth of the Olenek River is located in the Olenek Bay, which belongs to the Laptev Sea. It forms a delta with an area of 475 square kilometers.
Northern part of the territory whereOlenek flows, belongs to the Arctic climatic zone, and the rest - to the subarctic. A feature of these zones are large annual temperature amplitudes and too little precipitation. For example, during the whole winter they fall only from 20 to 40 millimeters. The snow covering the river basin is loose, without crust, as there are practically no thaws here.
Extraordinarily picturesque places are found where the Olenyok River makes sharp turns. Here, cliffs rise along the banks, resembling sheer walls, pillars and obelisks. In the upper reaches, the bottom and banks of the river are covered with pebbles. And after joining a large tributary of the Arga-Sala, sandbanks and islands are more common in the expanded channel.
Hydrology
The regime of the Olenek River is determined by the climatic conditions of the region through which it flows. Like all rivers of Siberia, the Far East, Olenek has a summer flood, which is observed from June to September. It feeds mainly on summer rains and meltwater. Water consumption averages 1210 cubic meters. m/s.
Due to the special climate in the area where the Olenyok River is located in its upper reaches, the reservoir systematically freezes over from January to April. In the lower reaches, this period is longer - from the second half of September to the end of May.
The continuous permafrost in the Olenyok River basin has a great influence on the water temperature, which is observed as very close to zero in the period from September to the end of May. The average annual temperature is 3.4degrees. The maximum thickness of ice that covers the Olenyok River from autumn to spring is 244 cm. And this is already a rather serious indicator. On the territory of the Vilyuisky plateau, from where the Olenyok River originates, there is permafrost, the length of which is more than one and a half kilometers.
Main tributaries
Of all the tributaries, the largest is the Arga-Sala, which flows into the 1528 km from the mouth and is the boundary of the upper reaches of the Olenyok River. The length of Arga-Sala is 554 kilometers. This river flows mainly along the Central Siberian Plateau, formed by the confluence of two rivers (Right and Left Arga-Sala), and is distinguished by an abundance of rapids. It starts almost in the same place where the source of the Olenyok River is located, only to the left.
The second largest tributary is the Bur River, which is closer to the mouth. Its length is about 500 kilometers. After the confluence of this tributary, the Olenek passes in a northwestern direction along the Chekanovsky ridge. The Siligir River is the right tributary of the Olenek River in the middle reaches (length 344 kilometers), which is also considered one of the largest. Formed by the confluence of the Usuk-Siligir and Orto-Siligir rivers. Other tributaries (Unukit, Birekte, Beenchime, Kuyoka and others), although considered large, have a much smaller length and basin area.
Flora and fauna of the river valley
Almost throughout the territory where the Olenyok River flows, the vegetation is rather sparse and does not differ in diversity. It is represented mainly by sparse deciduous forests. On the slopes of the valleys, undergrowthbecomes thicker. Occasionally there are areas occupied by birch, willow or vine. In drained areas, deciduous forests are diluted with spruce. Trees here can reach a height of up to 12 meters.
Herbaceous vegetation is a rarity. The main space of the lower reaches of the river is bare tundra, which is covered with reindeer moss, slate and lichen. In addition, the shrub layer is also developed, represented by wild rosemary, blueberry, bearberry, etc. Cowberry, wild rose, red currant and juniper are less common.
Of the animals, reindeer, wolves, ermines, foxes and hares are almost everywhere found near the river. But reptiles are not found in this area at all.
River fish
Characteristics of the Olenek River marks the factors that determined the distribution of the ichthyofauna in such a way that cyprinids are almost completely absent here. There are several reasons for this - this is the temperature regime, and the limited number of suitable breeding sites, as well as a large number of predators.
In total, there are 27 different types of fish in the river. Of these, a considerable number of valuable ones are taimen, nelma, whitefish, lenok. They are distributed along the entire course of the Olenyok River. You can often meet pike, perch, burbot. On the section of the river, located closer to the mouth, migratory fish enter - vendace, omul, muksun, pyzhyan. Taimen is the pride of the Olenyok River. Some specimens reach enormous sizes and weights of 30–40 kilograms.
Rafting on the Olenyok River
Upstream of the river, wherethere are many suitable places for fishing, often used for rafting on catamarans, kayaks and kayaks. The most favorable time for this comes in June, during the flood. On multiple rifts with a strong current, fish are very well caught. The area where rafting is possible (from the mouth of the Alakit tributary to the village of Olenek) is very picturesque due to rocky cliffs and remnants.
All this attracts many outdoor enthusiasts. When rafting, it is recommended to go near steep banks, while constantly monitoring the depth. The bottom is easily visible anywhere, as the water in the river is crystal clear. Compliance with all precautions is the most important condition. In these deserted places, you do not have to rely on someone's help.
Economic use of the river
The main economic activity on the Olenyok River is fishing. Fishing is carried out by both state-owned enterprises and a few indigenous people, for whom this is a traditional type of fishing. Mostly fishing is carried out in the autumn-winter period in the lower reaches. Navigation is developed in this part of the river. All fishing activities are strictly regulated by federal law.
