Verkhoyansk ulus.
The city of Verkhoyansk is the administrative center of the Verkhoyansk ulus. It is located 900 km northeast of Yakutsk on the banks of the Yana River beyond the Arctic Circle. The city was founded in 1638 as a Cossack winter hut, 90 km southwest of the location of the modern city. In 1775 the city was moved to a new location. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Verkhoyansk became a place of exile for political prisoners. The Verkhoyansk region has some of the lowest temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere. In this regard, in 2005, a memorial obelisk “Pole of Cold” was erected here. The Verkhoyansk Ulus Museum “Pole of Cold” also operates in the city.
From Verkhoyansk, you can go to the weather station, where one of the lowest temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere was recorded, or get to the gold mines and see how gold is mined.
In terms of temperature records, the Verkhoyansk ulus is second only to the Oymyakon ulus. In the village of Oymyakon , the average monthly temperature in January reaches -50 degrees, and the lowest temperature was recorded in 1926 and amounted to -71.2 degrees, which is an absolute record for the Northern Hemisphere. The right to be called the coldest place in the Northern Hemisphere is disputed by the nearby village of Tomtor. It is in these two villages that the Pole of Cold festival takes place at the end of March with mass celebrations, snowmobile rides, deer and dogs. In the vicinity of the villages there is a cave of the owner of these places, Chyskhaan (an image of the Yakut frost). In the cave you can see ice sculptures, furniture and even ice dishes.
According to DELUXESURVEILLANCE.COM, the administrative center of the Oymyakonsky ulus is the village of Ust-Nera, which is known as the center of gold mining in Yakutia. It is from here that numerous excursions to the gold mines of the upper reaches of the Indigirka River depart. Almost every mine has the remains of Stalinist camps, some of which have been turned into museums. In local artels, you will get acquainted with the technology of gold mining and you will be able to join the process yourself. In the village of Ust-Nera, the Ust-Nersky Museum of Local Lore operates. Here the remains of ancient animals of the Quaternary period are exhibited, a model of a booth (Yakut dwelling) with household items, as well as ancient weapons is presented.
The most mysterious attraction of the Oymyakonsky ulus is Lake Labynkyr. It is located near the village of Tomtor. The length of the lake is 14 km, the width reaches 4 km, and the depth reaches 50 m. Local residents claim that a monster lives in the lake that eats dogs, deer and even people. They just call him “the devil”. There is a lot of evidence when the monster was seen, but there is no official confirmation of this. Momsky
ulus adjoins the Oymyakonsky ulus from the north. On its territory there is a national natural park “Momsky”. The park is located in the basin of the Moma River. Its total area is 4.5 million hectares. Among the attractions of the park, one can single out the highest point of Yakutia – Pobeda Peak (3003 m), the Moma River valley with the extinct Balagan-Taas volcano, the slopes of which are covered with hardened volcanic lava aged 300 thousand years, the Ulakhan-Taryn ice up to 7 km wide, 40 km long and 7 m thick, as well as mineral springs.
In addition, in the eastern part of Yakutia, Abysky ulus is interesting, which is considered one of the most environmentally friendly regions of the republic, Verkhnekolymsky ulus, where the Zyryansky Museum of the History of the Peoples of the North of Yakutia is located, the Nizhnekolymsky ulus with the Nizhnekolymsky Museum of the history and culture of the peoples of the North of Yakutia and the Allaikhovsky ulus c Allaikhov Museum of Tundra Nature and Hunting.
