YAKUTSK, yi kootsk', Asiatic Russia. (1) A town of Eastern Siberia, capital of the gov ernment of the same name, on a plain sur rounded by lofty heights, on the left lank of the Lena. The streets present a singular aspect. being composed of about 400 houses of Euro pean structure, standing apart, while the inter %ening spaces are occupied by winter yurts or huts of the northern nomads, with walls of cow-dung, earthen roofs, and doors cos creel with hairy hides. The principal buildings of the town are a large stone cathedral, other churches, a synagogue, a market-house and sev eral educational institutions. Inundations are frequent and the town is consequently unhealth ful. The trade is important, Yakutsk being the chief commercial emporium for the whok of Eastern Siberia. The principal articles of native produce arc furs and fossil ivory, which arc exchanged for European produce. Im portant fairs are held. Pop. about 8,209. (2) The government of Yakutsk has an area of 1,533,397 ('Century Diet.' and 'Encvc. Brit' give 1,530,253; other authorities, 'Standard Dict,' Lippincott, Longman, agree with Inter national') square miles, or about two-fifths of that of Europe. The surface is generally low in the north, hut rises toward the interior, and in the south and east is covered by the Yablonot or Stanovoi Mountains and their offshoots A noteworthy feature of the country is the tundra'.
immense boggy plains, which stretch along the north. Farther south there are good pastures. and wheat and rye are successfully cultivated. even where the ground is frozen to a depth of 600 feet, the summer heat being strong enough to thaw it sufficiently deep for cultisation. There are a number of large rivers tee ming with fish, the principal being the Lena. There are valueable forests in the south, frequented by numerous fur-bearing and other animals. Gold and salt are mined but other mineral wealth. including coal, is practically untouched. Cara vans with Chinese and European goods collm-t the produce of the whole line of coast on the Polar Sea between the parallels of 70' and 74% from the mouth of the river Lena to the farthest point inhabited by the Tchukchis. The towns are chiefly inhabited by Turks and Cossacks. but the great body of the pcopk arc nomads, consisting of Yakuts, Tunguses, etc. Frosts of 79.5° F. are recorded and the period free from frost is only about 37 days. The climate is the coldest in Siberia. Pop. about 325,000.