Lena << LEE nuh >> River is the chief waterway of a large district of eastern Siberia, in Russia. The river rises on the slopes of the Baikal Mountains and flows northeast for 2,734 miles (4,400 kilometers). The river empties into the Arctic Ocean through the Laptev Sea. The river’s delta is about 250 miles (402 kilometers) wide. Ships can sail up the Lena River for about 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers).
The Lena River drains an area of about 1 million square miles (2.6 million square kilometers). Its chief branches are the Vitim, Olekma, Aldan, and Vilyuy rivers. Gold is mined along the Vitim and the Aldan. The Lena River basin has large coal and natural gas deposits.
Along its middle course, the Lena River flows through a region that is inhabited by the Yakuts, a Turkic people who fish, farm, and raise livestock. The largest city on the river is Yakutsk.
