Oklan

{{Infobox river

| name = Oklan

| other_name = Оклан / Ыӄлан

| image =

| image_caption =

| subdivision_type1 = Country

| subdivision_name1 = Russia

| subdivision_type2 = Federal subject

| subdivision_name2 = Kamchatka Krai

| subdivision_type3 = District

| subdivision_name3 = Penzhinsky District

| subdivision_type4 =

| subdivision_name4 =

| source1_location = Ichigem Range
Koryak Highlands

| source1_elevation = {{convert|540|m|}}

| source1_coordinates = {{coord|63|34|36|N|163|43|03|E|}}

| mouth = Penzhina

| mouth_elevation = {{convert|23|m|}}

| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|62|33|11|N|166|32|50|E|source:wikidata|display=it}}

| progression =

| length = {{convert|272|km|mi|abbr=on}}

| discharge1_avg = {{convert|138|m3/s|abbr=on}}

| basin_size = {{convert|12600|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}

| pushpin_map =Russia Kamchatka Krai

| pushpin_map_caption = Mouth location in Kamchatka Krai

}}

The Oklan ({{langx|ru|Оклан}}; Koryak: Ыӄлан) is a river in Kamchatka Krai, Russia. The length of the river is {{convert|272|km|mi}} and the area of is drainage basin {{convert|12600|km2|mi2}}.{{GVR|282866|Река Оклан}} It is the second most important tributary of the Penzhina after the Belaya.

The name of the river comes from the Koryak "yalan" (Ыӄлан), meaning "icy way".Leontiev V.V. , Novikova K.A. Toponymic dictionary of the North-East of the USSR / scientific. ed. G. A. Menovshchikov ; FEB AS USSR . North-East complex. Research Institute. Lab. archeology, history and ethnography. - Magadan: Magadan . book. publishing house , 1989. - S. 290. - 456 p. — ISBN 5-7581-0044-7

History

Russian Cossack explorers reached the Oklan river basin in the 17th century and built the Aklansk fort. The fort was abandoned in 1804. At that time the indigenous Koryaks were engaged in reindeer herding and fishing. The settlement was revived in the 20th century as a state farm dedicated to reindeer-breeding.

Course

The Oklan has its source in Mount Stolovaya, located in the western part of the Ichigem Range, at the NW end of the Koryak Highlands. It flows roughly eastwards along the southern limits of the range area, descending into a swampy floodplain with numerous small lakes where it splits into branches. Finally it meets the right bank of the Penzhina {{convert|97|km|mi|abbr=on}} from its mouth in the Bering Sea.{{cite web|url=https://maps.vlasenko.net/smtm1000/p-57_58.jpg|title=Топографска карта P-57_58 - Topographic USSR Chart (in Russian)|access-date=24 February 2022}}Google Earth[https://water-rf.ru/%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B5_%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%8A%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%82%D1%8B/1874/%D0%9E%D0%BA%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD Water of Russia - Оклан]

The river is fed mainly by snow and freezes in October, staying under thick ice until May. The melting of the ice in the river valley continues during the summer period. The main tributaries of the Oklan are the {{convert|62|km|mi|abbr=on}} long Khayoklam (Хайоклан) from the right and the {{convert|91|km|mi|abbr=on}} long Bolshoy Chalbugchan (Хайоклан) from the left.

valign="top"

|File:Penzhina.png

Flora and fauna

The Oklan river basin is characterized by discontinuous permafrost with tundra vegetation, including mosses, lichens, dwarf shrubs, and sedges.V. Yu. Neshataeva, Vegetation cover of the North of the Kamchatka Okrug (Kamchatsky Krai) and its geobotanical zoning // Ecology and geography of plants and plant communities: Proceedings of the IV International Scientific Conference. - Yekaterinburg, 2018. - April 16. — ISBN 978-5-7741-0341-6 There are birches and poplars growing along the river banks in the floodplain.

Among the fish species in the river the pike and the grayling deserve mention.

References

External links

[https://pandia.ru/text/77/433/18012.php Проект переселения «Пенжинский муниципальный район» Общая характеристика (стр. 1 )]
[https://russiatrek.org/kamchatka-krai Kamchatka Krai travel guide]

Category:Rivers of Kamchatka Krai

Category:Koryak Mountains