Zeya
Description
Zeya is a town in Amur Oblast, Russia, located on the Zeya River (a tributary of the Amur) 230 km southeast of Tynda and 532 km north of Blagoveshchensk.
History
It was founded in 1879 as the settlement of Zeysky Sklad (Зе́йский Склад, lit. Zeya warehouse), as a supply and administrative center for the exploitation of newly discovered gold deposits in the Zeya River basin. By 1906, the settlement had grown to over 5,000 inhabitants, and was granted town status under the name Zeya-Pristan (Зе́я-При́стань, lit Zeya Port). In 1913, the town's name was shortened to Zeya.
The town remained one of Russia's most important centers of gold production until the opening of the Kolyma region in the 1930s.
Construction of the Zeya Dam, beginning in 1964, saw a new growth period for the town.
