Indigirka is a river in the northeast of Yakutia. Description, food, tributaries

Indigirka is a river located in the north of the Asian part of Russia. It is the largest in the Republic of Sakha (the former Yakutia), the third largest in Siberia. The length of the river is 1,726 km, it flows from the south to the north, the estuary - the East Siberian Sea. This means that Indigirka belongs to the basin of the Arctic Ocean. The area of the water basin of the river is about 360 thousand km. Neighborhoods throughout the coastline amaze with their splendor: the mountains on one side symbolize courage, the plains on the other - softness and good nature.

Name and Source

Indigirka is a river, which got its name from the Siberian Tungu people of Even. According to their dialect, the hydronymium is translated as a "dog pond".

Indigirka takes its beginning in a place where two mountain rivers of small sizes meet. The source of the streams lies at the northern slope of the Khalkan Range. The beginning of the river is located at an altitude of 792 m above sea level.

Characteristics of the river

According to the characteristics of the channel, the valley and the speed of the current, Indigirka is a river, which can be divided into two parts: mountainous and lowland. The length of the upper mountain part is 640 km, the lower plain is 1,086 km. Leaving from the northern slope of the Khalkan Range, the stream is directed along the lower boundary of the Oymyakonsky Highlands, cutting the mountain ranges: Chemalginsky and Chersky. Farther on, circling Moma's Ridge, Indigirka emerges into a low-lying flat terrain. The river bed in this section is pebbly, there are relatively small sections of the river with sharp rock blocks protruding from the earth, called shiver.

The speed of water movement in these areas is 2-3 m / s. When the Indigirka crosses the Chemalginsky Range, the speed increases to 4 m / s. In this area the river forms rapids, flowing through deep gorges. This site is very complex and dangerous, so it is not suitable even for rafting.

In the plains, Indigirka (the river) flows along the Yano-Indigirskaya and Abyyskaya lowlands. The valley increases, creating a large number of braids, chalk and sleeves. The average width of the river in these places is 500 m. Indigirka here is very tortuous.

Closer to the delta, the width of the valley increases to 600-800 m, and the river divides into: the Russian estuary, the Kolyma sleeve, the Middle sleeve - the largest of them. Sleeves for 130 km to the sea, in turn, form a wide delta, its area of more than 5 500 square meters. Km. The river basin passes along the boundary of permafrost, so the frozen banks and huge ice sheets are the characteristic condition of the Indigirka water flow.

But between the mouth and the sea formed a shallow bar (a sandy beach of marine and river sediment).

Nutrition, sink and glaciation

Feeding of the Indigirka River is of mixed type. The greater part is made up by rain and thawed waters. And under the last option it is supposed to turn into a liquid of snow, ice and ice. The reservoir is characterized by the East Siberian type of regime. In the warm season there is a constant flood. It lasts from 70 to 100 days. But the ice covers the river already in October, and this period lasts until May-June. The icebreaker takes about a week from the time interval. The annual flow of water is about 58 km, most of it is in summer (50%), in spring - 32%, in autumn - 15%, and in winter less than 1%.

The regime of the Indigirka River is so severe that the stream is considered the coldest on the planet, this is its unique feature. Winters here are frosty and harsh. At average air temperatures (minus 40-50 degrees Celsius), the river in some places freezes to the very bottom. In the village. Oimyakon, which is located near the confluence of the river. Nera in Indigirk, the lowest temperatures recorded in the Northern Hemisphere. Soils at the bottom of alluvial origin.

Geographical zones and climate

Some rivers of Russia (Indigirka, among others) flow practically throughout the territory of the Republic of Yakutia. This means that the water body in the plant plan passes through different geographical zones. Taiga and taiga forests cross the river in the upper reaches (the flora is represented by sparse deciduous forests, thickets of cedar and alder wood), and forest-tundra and tundra in the lower reaches (represented by shrub and lichen). The Arctic desert is characteristic of the delta flow. Almost everywhere the banks are swamped.

The climate is sharply continental. The average temperature in January is minus 40 ° C, the average temperature for July is plus 14 ° C. Humidity of air is about 70%.

Tributaries

The tributaries of the Indigirka River are located both in the upper reaches and in the lower reaches. On the upper border to the stream adjoin: on the left - the rivers Elgi, Kyuente, Kuidusun, on the right - the largest tributary of Indigirka - r. Nera (196 km). In the lower border on the left - the tributaries of Uyandin, Allaikh, Selenni, Berelekh; Right - the rivers Badyarikha and Moma.

In addition to the large tributaries, Indigirka has smaller ones - the rivers Sarylakh, Talbikchan, Arga-Yuryakh, Achchygy-Chagachannah, Atabyt-Yuryakh and others. Inflows, like Indigirka itself, are fueled by rain and thawed waters.

Development of territories

The development of the reservoir began only in the early 17th century, when the Tobolsk Cossacks arrived in Siberia. The first settlement on the bank of the Indigirka River was founded in 1639 by the Cossack Postnik Ivanov - Zashiveri Ostrog. The settlement was inhabited until the end of the XIX century. However, after the smallpox epidemic, the settlement became extinct. Now it is no longer inhabited, but there is a city-monument.

Mass development of people began in the first half of the XVIII century. In the delta of the river there was the largest settlement on the shore - the Russian mouth. At the end of the XIX century there were 29 settlements on the banks of the stream.

Now on the coastline of Indigirka there are 5 small settlements: Ust-Nera (6,000 people), Chokurdah (2,100 people), Belaya Gora (2,000), Oimyakon (500 people), Honuu (2,500 people. ). The village of Chokurdah is the northernmost port of Russia.

In addition to the local population, people are attracted to these places by gold deposits. On the banks of the river, gold is extracted. The Moma River basin has deposits of coal.

Fauna

Indigirka is rich in representatives of ichthyofauna. About 30 species of fish found their home in the waters of the river. It is quite popular fishing at the mouth. The most common commercial species of aquatic animals Indigirki: rylad, omul and chir. In addition to these representatives, others are known: muxun, whitefish, burbot.

In addition, in the waters of Indigirka there are also endangered species of fish, some of them are listed in the Red Book. This, for example, Siberian sturgeon - a representative is threatened with extinction. The number of fish population in Nelma, the Siberian vendace decreased to critical norms. Recently, a ban on catching fish of the muscular species was introduced.
Periodically spawning in the delta Indigirka salmon enter: pink salmon and chum salmon.

In the summer period of the year from the settlement of Honu the stream is navigable. At this time the river becomes the main water-transport route in the northeast of Russia.

Travels

Traveling on the Indigirka River is not an easy exercise, a dangerous place. But most of all pushes off a severe temperature regime. Here students of geographical institutes often come to research practices, since most of the coast of Indigirka has not yet been studied.

But adventurers enough everywhere, and at the lower reaches of the stream is carried out kayak rafting, kayaking. And there are also wonderful places suitable for fishing and hunting.

To the natural attractions of this region can be attributed the range of Chersky. It is named after I.D. Chersky. Its highest point is the city of Victory (3,003 m.). It is the last major geographical object on the map of Russia. It was discovered only in 1926 by the researcher S.V. Obruchevym.

Fall and slope of the river

The fall of the Indigirka River (and any other) is calculated based on the distance between the source and the mouth of the reservoir. In fact, this term indicates the difference between these two indicators. According to some official information, the drop is about 1 thousand meters. The figure has an average level among other flows of Russia.

The slope of the Indigirka River is equal to 58 m / km. This number is obtained as a result of the ratio of the fall to the value of the reservoir. In principle, the indicator is not so great, however, still being on the river, one should be extremely cautious.