Verkhoyansk
Encyclopedia
Verkhoyansk is a town in Verkhoyansky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia
, situated on the Yana River
, near the Arctic Circle
, 675 kilometres (419.4 mi) from Yakutsk
. Population:
There is a river port, an airport
, a fur
-collecting depot, and the center of a reindeer
-raising area.
in 1638, 90 kilometres (55.9 mi) southwest of the modern town. In 1775, it was moved to the left bank of the Yana River, to facilitate tax collection. It was granted town status in 1817. Between the 1860s and 1917, the town was a place of political exile, with some of the more prominent exiles including the Polish writer Wacław Sieroszewski, as well as Bolshevik revolutionaries Ivan Babushkin
and Viktor Nogin
.
(Köppen
Dfd) dominated much of the year by high pressure
. This has the effect of cutting off the region from warming influences in winter and together with little cloud cover leads to extensive heat losses during the cooler months. The warmest month on record is July 2010 at 20.8 °C (69.4 °F).
Together with Oymyakon
, Verkhoyansk is one of the places considered the northern Pole of Cold
. The lowest temperature
recorded there, in 1892, was -67.8 C, though there is some question as to exactly what the original measurement was. Additionally, Verkhoyansk has recorded a temperature as high as 37.3 °C (99.1 °F), yielding a temperature range of 105.1 °C (189.2 °F). In this area, temperature inversions
consistently form in winter due to the extremely cold and dense air of the Siberian High
pooling in deep hollows, with the result that temperatures increase rather than decrease with higher altitude.
Verkhoyansk has a dry climate with little rainfall or snowfall; the average annual precipitation is 173 millimetres (6.8 in). Although no month can be described as truly wet, there are strong seasonal differences in precipitation, with the summer being much wetter than the winter. Winter precipitation is extremely light largely on account of the dominance of high pressure at this time of year. Snow is actually most likely in October and May when the weather is less dry than in the winter months proper.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, situated on the Yana River
Yana River
The Yana River , is a river in Sakha in Russia, located between the Lena to the west and the Indigirka to the east.It is 872 km in length. The area of its basin is 238,000 km², whilst its annual discharge totals approximately . Most of this discharge occurs in May and June as the ice on the...
, near the Arctic Circle
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....
, 675 kilometres (419.4 mi) from Yakutsk
Yakutsk
With a subarctic climate , Yakutsk is the coldest city, though not the coldest inhabited place, on Earth. Average monthly temperatures range from in July to in January. The coldest temperatures ever recorded on the planet outside Antarctica occurred in the basin of the Yana River to the northeast...
. Population:
There is a river port, an airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
, a fur
Fur
Fur is a synonym for hair, used more in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensives body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal...
-collecting depot, and the center of a reindeer
Reindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
-raising area.
History
Cossacks founded an ostrogOstrog (fortress)
Ostrog was a Russian term for a small fort, typically wooden and often non-permanently manned. Ostrogs were encircled by 4-6 metres high palisade walls made from sharpened trunks. The name derives from the Russian word строгать , "to shave the wood". Ostrogs were smaller and exclusively military...
in 1638, 90 kilometres (55.9 mi) southwest of the modern town. In 1775, it was moved to the left bank of the Yana River, to facilitate tax collection. It was granted town status in 1817. Between the 1860s and 1917, the town was a place of political exile, with some of the more prominent exiles including the Polish writer Wacław Sieroszewski, as well as Bolshevik revolutionaries Ivan Babushkin
Ivan Babushkin
Ivan Babushkin was a Russian professional Bolshevik revolutionary. He was born in the selo of Ledengskoye of the Vologda Governorate, currently in Babushkinsky District of Vologda Oblast....
and Viktor Nogin
Viktor Nogin
Viktor Pavlovich Nogin was a prominent Bolshevik in Moscow, holding many high positions in the party and in government, including Chairman of the Moscow Military-Revolutionary Committee and Chairman of the Presidium of the Executive Committee of Moscow Council of Workers'...
.
Climate
Verkhoyansk is notable chiefly for its exceptionally low winter temperatures and some of the greatest temperature differences between summer and winter on Earth. Average monthly temperatures range from -45.8 C in January to 16.9 °C (62.4 °F) in July. Mean monthly temperatures are below freezing from October through April and exceed 10 °C (50 °F) from June through August, with the intervening months of May and September constituting very short transitional seasons. Verkhoyansk has an extreme subarctic climateSubarctic climate
The subarctic climate is a climate characterized by long, usually very cold winters, and short, cool to mild summers. It is found on large landmasses, away from the moderating effects of an ocean, generally at latitudes from 50° to 70°N poleward of the humid continental climates...
(Köppen
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Dfd) dominated much of the year by high pressure
Anticyclone
An anticyclone is a weather phenomenon defined by the United States' National Weather Service's glossary as "[a] large-scale circulation of winds around a central region of high atmospheric pressure, clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere"...
. This has the effect of cutting off the region from warming influences in winter and together with little cloud cover leads to extensive heat losses during the cooler months. The warmest month on record is July 2010 at 20.8 °C (69.4 °F).
Together with Oymyakon
Oymyakon
Oymyakon is a village in Oymyakonsky Ulus of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located along the Indigirka River, 30 kilometres northwest of Tomtor on the Kolyma Highway.-Geography:...
, Verkhoyansk is one of the places considered the northern Pole of Cold
Pole of Cold
The Poles of Cold are the places in the Northern and Southern hemispheres where the lowest air temperatures have been recorded.- Northern hemisphere :...
. The lowest temperature
Temperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
recorded there, in 1892, was -67.8 C, though there is some question as to exactly what the original measurement was. Additionally, Verkhoyansk has recorded a temperature as high as 37.3 °C (99.1 °F), yielding a temperature range of 105.1 °C (189.2 °F). In this area, temperature inversions
Inversion (meteorology)
In meteorology, an inversion is a deviation from the normal change of an atmospheric property with altitude. It almost always refers to a temperature inversion, i.e...
consistently form in winter due to the extremely cold and dense air of the Siberian High
Siberian High
The Siberian High is a massive collection of cold or very cold dry air that accumulates on the Eurasian terrain for much of the year. It reaches its greatest size and strength in the winter, when the air temperature near the center of the high-pressure cell or anticyclone is often lower than...
pooling in deep hollows, with the result that temperatures increase rather than decrease with higher altitude.
Verkhoyansk has a dry climate with little rainfall or snowfall; the average annual precipitation is 173 millimetres (6.8 in). Although no month can be described as truly wet, there are strong seasonal differences in precipitation, with the summer being much wetter than the winter. Winter precipitation is extremely light largely on account of the dominance of high pressure at this time of year. Snow is actually most likely in October and May when the weather is less dry than in the winter months proper.