Bodaybo

Bodaybo (Russian: Бодайбо, IPA: [bədɐjˈbo]) is a town and the administrative center of Bodaybinsky District in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. It is located 1,290 kilometers (800 mi) from Irkutsk.

The town is located in the Patom Highlands, on the right bank of the Vitim River at its confluence with the Bodaybo River. Besides Bodaybo, some of the settlements of the district are Aprilsk, Artyomovsky, Balakhninsky, Kropotkin, Mamakan, Svetly, Vasilievsky, Perevoz and Bolshoy Patom.

It was founded in 1864 and served the needs of the local gold mining industry. The Lena massacre took place near Bodaybo in 1912. It was granted town status in 1925.

The Vitim event occurred on September 25, 2002 near the town. It was believed to be caused by a bolide or a comet nucleus impact.

The Bodaybo Airport is the only airport in Bodaybo and is quite small. It is served by Angara Airlines which flies only to Irkutsk.

Bodaybo has a subarctic climate, with bitterly cold winters and warm summers. Precipitation is quite low, but falls mostly in summer, with the climate being arid at other times of the year.