Abstract. This article is written in the framework of the Russian Science Foundation  project         № 15-18-20047 “Landscape ontology: semantics, semiotics, and geographic modeling” (2015-2017). The article focuses on attempts of reconstructing the reclamation process of Central Yakutia on the example of the Khangalassky region over different time periods and by various tribes. Etymological analysis of toponyms of the territory under research, several layers of ethnic impact, as well as traces left by different ethnic groups over the course of reclamation of the territory were revealed as the result.

Relevance of the research: relevance of the given research is determined by the interest on the part of modern geographical sciences (human geography in particular) to the nature of relations between humans and environment, and the problems of landscape ontology as a source of a wide range of socio-humanistic knowledge.  Besides, questions of toponymic etymology in the Yakut language as a factor revealing layers of knowledge on the history of peoples who have established long-term contacts with one another; problem of language and culture of the peoples or tribes who have influenced the formation of the Yakut language on the one hand, and dialect characteristics within a single language on the other, in terms of naming the same geographical objects, have not been studied comprehensively enough. 

Objective of the research: objective of the given research is to identify the etymological element of Yakutia’s toponyms in order to reconstruct the historical past of Central Yakutia’s exploration, and to determine the types of landscape’s identification by various ethnic groups in formation of toponyms.

Methods of research: the leading method in analyzing the given problem is comparative-contrastive method based on identification of the toponyms’ etymological element, as well as the method of statistical processing of the quantitative results of the analysis. More than 300 toponyms have been studied on the material of the toponymic base of Central Yakutia’s Khangalassky region. Etymology of toponym is studied on the basis of dictionary definition of the material provided by informants.

Results: analysis resulted in identification of etymological components in Central Yakutia’s toponyms. Khangalassky region was selected for analysis due to historical factor in the first place. Yakuts as an ethnic group formed in the basin of Middle Lena, on the valleys of Erkeeny and Samartay. The final formation of the Sakha people occurs as a result of the mixture of outsider Turkic tribes with local paleoasiatic family groups, as well as with outsider Mongol-speaking Khoro and Tungus tribes.  Etymological and semantic components of toponymy show, that the toponymy of the Khangalassky region is marked by the most ancient layer in Yakutia’s toponymic formation. Formation of the Khangalassky region’s toponymy was greatly impacted by the Lena river, as well as adjacent rivers and creeks the names of which could be found in Evenki, Mongol, and Turkic linguocultural layers. In toponymic formation based on the Yakut language one can observe a layer of Mongol toponyms which had appeared before the Turkic toponymic layer. Traces of Tungus-Manchurian tribes of the earliest layer could still be found among the names of small rivers and creeks, since the tribes moved in order to hunt while using large objects as landmarks. The Russian etymological layer is considered to be the Russian one, linked to the territorial exploration by Russian explorers and farmers who settled on the territory of the Khangalassky region, and the post tract which linked the Yakut area to the Russian Empire during the reign of Peter I and Catherine II.

Conclusion: the analysis shows the gradual nature of toponymic formation in relation to the landscape. It allows systematizing the origins of toponyms in both historical and linguistic contexts. Materials presented in the article could also be of use for linguists, historians, cultural study specialists, and geographers.