Olyokma

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. ==Course==

The river is long, and has a drainage basin of . The Olyokma rises in the Muroy Range, 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. To the west flows the Vitim, to the south the Shilka and Amur, and to the east the upper Aldan. Its main tributaries are the Tungir, the Nyukzha and the Chara —with its tributary the Tokko. ==See also==