The Lena River, nicknamed the braided river, is Earth's 10th largest, flowing from it's source near the Mongolian border, through 2,734mi of central Siberia,
terminating after a very curvy course into Laptev Sea in the Arctic Ocean. The river is especially notable for its deliriously high number of tributaries, and it's role in Earth's climate. Large floats of ice form in the massive freshwater Lena delta, breaking off into the Laptev Sea, helping to keep the Arctic Circle chilly year round, which in turn stabilizes temperatures and weather patterns throughout the planet's northern latitudes.
A kind of Siberian equivalent of the Mississippi, the Lena is not only it's central river geographically, but culturally. The river serves as a kind of relative oasis in many areas along it's length, and is navigable along virtually all of its course.
Numerous myths, legends and allegories are based around various points of interest or curiosity along the river's length, with a company even offering cruise ship style tours down the river. The Lena is an excruciatingly beautiful river, both on on the ground, and from the sky, furnishing some of the most stunning satellite images available, of 'which two of the better are located @:
http://www.unep-wcmc.org/habitats/freshwater/I/BraidedRiver_Siberia.jpg
http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/images/lena3.jpg