Oymyakon is a village located in the Yakutia Republic, Russia. It lies on the western shore of the Indigirka river and has a population of just over 500. Oymyakon is among the coldest villages on the planet. Temperatures there dropped to a record -100°F (-71.2 °C) in 1933, while according to unconfirmed info they went as low as -120°F (-82 °C) back in 1916.
Due to the freezing climate, temperatures rarely rise above -50°F (-45°C) during the winter. As long as values stay near this, village residents go about their normal everyday tasks, while the kids go to school. But if temperatures drop below -70°F (-55°C), school closes.
Because of the low temperatures, the people there don't enjoy a particularly varied life. They don't grow fruits and vegetables, nor have the opportunity to practice agricultural professions. Instead, they take care of deer, whose meat they feed on and whose hides they use to make clothes, bedsheets, coverings, etc.
These details about the village are widely known but few are aware that the name of the village is also linked to the mysterious creature that locals believe lives near the populated area.
Not far from Oymyakon sprawls a bizarre lake, where the water never freezes despite the cold climate. In fact, the name of the village comes from the lake, in literal translation meaning "unfrozen lake".
According to local stories, it is in this unfrozen water that a dangerous monster swims, one that looks like a dinosaur and is over 33 ft (10 m) long. Locals even like to call it the "Russian Nessie".
Some believe that it's an Ichthyosaur or some other cousin of the Loch Ness monster, which before attacking its victim gives off horrifying sounds. Others deny these fantastical theories and say that there's a killer whale hiding in the lake.
The numerous theories have also become reason for the mysterious water body to be checked out by investigators. But they were unable to say with certainty whether a real monster lives there or if it's all a figment of the rich imagination of the locals.
