What is "kolyma"

Kolyma (, ) is a region located in the Russian Far East. It is bounded by the East Siberian Sea and the Arctic Ocean in the north and the Sea of Okhotsk to the south. The region gets its name from the Kolyma River and mountain range, parts of which were not discovered until 1926. Today the region consists roughly of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug and the Magadan Oblast.

The area, part of which is within the Arctic Circle, has a subarctic climate with very cold winters lasting up to six months of the year. Permafrost and tundra cover a large part of the region. Average winter temperatures range from -19 °C to -38 °C (even lower in the interior), and average summer temperatures, from +3 °C to +16 °C. There are rich reserves of gold, silver, tin, tungsten, mercury, copper, antimony, coal, oil, and peat. Twenty-nine zones of possible oil and gas accumulation have been identified in the Sea of Okhotsk shelf. Total reserves are estimated at 3.5 billion tons of equivalent fuel, including 1.2 billion tons of oil and 1.5 billion m of gas.

The principal town Magadan has nearly 100,000 inhabitants and is the largest port in north-eastern Russia. It has a large fishing fleet and remains open year-round thanks to icebreakers. Magadan is served by the nearby Sokol Airport. There are many public and private farming enterprises. Gold mines, pasta- and sausage plants, fishing companies and a distillery form the city's industrial base.

Kolyma is a vast region in Siberia, Russia.

Kolyma may also refer to any of the following:

• Kolyma River, a river in northeastern Siberia
• Kolyma Bay, one of the main gulfs of the East Siberian Sea
• Kolyma Gulf, the largest gulf of the East Siberian Sea
• Kolyma Lowland, a vast region of marshes and lakes in northeastern Siberia
• M56 Kolyma Highway, also known as the 'Road of Bones'
• 15267 Kolyma, main-belt minor planet
• Kolyma Mountains, mountain massif in the Kolyma region
• The Kolyma Tales, Varlam Shalamov's book of short stories of Soviet labour camp life