Bodaybo (Бодайбо) is a town and the administrative center of Bodaybinsky District in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. It is located 1290 km from Irkutsk, the administrative center of the oblast.

Geography

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.

History

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.

Vitim event

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.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Bodaybo serves as the administrative center of Bodaybinsky District, to which it is directly subordinated. As a municipal division, the town of Bodaybo, together with the selo of Nerpo in Bodaybinsky District, is incorporated within Bodaybinsky Municipal District as Bodaybinskoye Urban Settlement.

Transportation

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

Climate

Bodaybo has a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification Dfc), 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.

Sources