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Geography and Natural Resources

2025 year, number S6

Toponyms of the Lena River Basin: Semantics and Spatial Analysis

V.V. FILIPPOVA1, A.S. FEDOROVA2, A.N. SAVVINOVA2, M.I. ZAKHAROV2
1The Institute for Humanities research and Indigenous studies of the North, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Yakutsk, Russia
2M.K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University, Yakutsk, Russia
Keywords: hydronyms, oikonyms, semantics, etymology, mapping, database

Abstract

The toponyms of the Lena River basin, represented by hydronyms and oikonyms, are considered. To conduct an analysis of the classification of toponyms, geographical toponymic dictionaries, special regional studies, popular science, reference, encyclopedic and educational literature, materials from the periodical press and the media were used. A database of geographical names of significant tributaries, large lakes and settlements was compiled based on the sources used. The analysis of the information entered the database was carried out according to the classification of toponyms. The following semantic classification was used for the etymology of the identified toponyms (names reflecting natural conditions and processes; anthropotoponyms; production toponyms; trade and transport; toponyms indicating types of settlements; ethnotoponyms; memorial toponyms; religious and cult toponyms, etc.). The language classification reflects the settlement of peoples along the Lena River basin, where Tungus (Evenki and Even) toponyms are more common in the upper and lower reaches of the river, Yakut names are present in the Middle Lena, Russian names are mainly in the territories of the Zabaikalski Krai, Irkutsk Oblast and Amur Oblast. Classification by objects of toponymic nomination showed the prevalence of hydronyms (limnonyms and potamonims). A series of thematic maps was compiled, displaying the spatial distribution of toponyms of the Lena River basin, toponymic information. The sources for compiling the maps were publicly available topographic maps of scale 1:100 000, 1:200 000. The created GIS database and toponymic maps made it possible to systematize different types of toponyms identified in the territory of the Lena River basin to visualize their spatial distribution.