{{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 | pushpin_map = Russia Sakha Republic | pushpin_map_caption= Location of the mouth in 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 | 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 subjects | subdivision_name2 = Krasnoyarsk Krai, 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. 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== Early mentions of the river are dated by the first half of the 17th century in connection with the Russian conquest of Siberia, when the {{lang|ru|Верхне-Вилюйское зимовье}} winter settlement (''zimovye'') was established, which gave rise to the town of Vilyuysk.<ref>{{cite Efron|Вилюйск}}</ref>
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. The Ust-Vilyuy Range rises above the facing bank of the 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, 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, Tonguo and Bappagay on the right; and the Sen, Lakharchana, Akhtaranda, Ygyatta, 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" |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]
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Category:Rivers of Krasnoyarsk Krai Category:Rivers of the Sakha Republic Category:Tributaries of the Lena Category:Central Yakutian Lowland