 It is 80 km long and up to 8 km wide (other sources state length of 100 km and width of 20 km) with a depth ranging from 300 to 600 m. Lake Lama is connected with Lake Melkoye by the .The lake was surveyed and described for the first time by Russian scientist Nikolay Urvantsev and his colleague Bazanov during an expedition in 1921.The hydronym "Lama" comes from Tungusic word "laamu" where it mean "sea", "ocean", "big water".