En Name: | Zhigansk |
Ru Name: | Жиганск |
Loc Name1: | Эдьигээн |
Loc Lang1: | Sakha |
Coordinates: | 66.7667°N 146°W |
Map Label Position: | right |
Federal Subject: | Sakha Republic |
Federal Subject Ref: | [1] |
Adm District Jur: | Zhigansky District |
Adm Selsoviet Jur: | Zhigansky Rural Okrug |
Adm Selsoviet Type: | Rural okrug |
Adm Ctr Of: | Zhigansky Rural Okrug |
Inhabloc Cat: | Rural locality |
Inhabloc Type: | Selo |
Mun District Jur: | Zhigansky Municipal District |
Mun District Jur Ref: | [2] |
Rural Settlement Jur: | Zhigansky Rural Settlement |
Mun Admctr Of: | Zhigansky Rural Settlement |
Pop 2010Census: | 3420 |
Established Date: | 1632 |
Current Cat Date: | 1783 |
Postal Codes: | 678330, 678349 |
Zhigansk (ru|Жига́нск; sah|Эдьигээн, Ecigeen) is a rural locality (a selo) and the administrative center of Zhigansky District in the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the left bank of the Lena River near where it is joined by its tributary the Nuora (Strekalovka), approximately 600km (400miles) northwest of Yakutsk, the capital of the republic. Population:
It was founded in 1632 as an ostrog by Cossacks led by Pyotr Beketov. In 1783, Zhigansk was granted town status and made the seat of a newly created uyezd within Yakutsk Oblast. It lost this function in 1805 with the dissolution of the uyezd, but remained the most northerly town on the Lena until 1917, when it was demoted to rural status.
In 1930, Zhigansk became the administrative center of the newly created Zhigansky District, which was declared an "Evenk National District" due to its large population of Evenks. In 2002, Evenks represented around 47% of the local population and Yakuts a further 34%.
Zhigansk is served by the Zhigansk Airport.[3]
There is no year-round road access to Zhigansk, but during the summer months, Yakutsk is reachable via boat on the Lena. In the months when the river is frozen, a winter road also leads to Yakutsk.
Zhigansk is located in a border of continental subarctic climates Dfc, Dsc and Dfd, Dsd under the Köppen climate classification with extremely cold and long winters and short mild summers.
Despite having an extreme subarctic climate, the town is not quite as cold in winter as some towns with a similar climate, such as Verkhoyansk or Oymyakon, both of which are located further east in deep valleys where perpetual temperature inversions occur during the winter.