Indigirka is a river located in the north of the Asian part of Russia. It is the largest in the Republic of Sakha (formerly Yakutia), the third largest in Siberia. The river is 1,726 km long, it flows from south to north, and the mouth is the East Siberian Sea. This means that Indigirka belongs to the Arctic Ocean basin. The area of the river’s water basin is about 360 thousand km. The surroundings along the entire coastline are striking in their splendor: the mountains on the one hand symbolize courage, the plains on the other - softness and good nature.
Title and Source
Indigirka is a river that got its name from the Siberian Tungu Evens. In their dialect, the hydronym is translated as "dog pond."
The Indigirka originates in the place where two small mountain streams converge. The source of the flows is located on the northern slope of the Halkan Range. The beginning of the river is located at an altitude of 792 m above sea level.
River characteristic
According to the characteristics of the channel, valley and flow rate, Indigirka is a river, which can be conditionally divided into two parts: mountain and plain. The length of the upper mountainous part is 640 km, the lower plain part - 1,086 km. When flowing down from the northern slope of the Khalkan Range, the flow is directed along the lower border of the Oymyakon Highland, cuts through the mountain ranges: Chemalginsky and Chersky. Following further, rounding the Moma Ridge, Indigirka goes to the lowland flat terrain. The channel on this site is pebble, relatively small sections of the river are found with sharp stone blocks protruding from the ground, which are called shiver.
The speed of water in these areas is 2-3 m / s. When the Indigirka crosses the Chemalginsky ridge, 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, therefore unsuitable even for rafting.
In the plain part, the Indigirka (river) flows along the Yano-Indigirskaya and Abyisk lowlands. The valley grows, creating a large number of braids, shallows and sleeves. The average width of the river in these places is 500 m. The Indigirka is very winding here.
Closer to the delta, the width of the valley increases to 600-800 m, and the river is divided into: Russian mouth, Kolyma sleeve, Middle sleeve - the largest of them. The sleeves 130 km from the sea, in turn, form a wide delta, with an area of more than 5,500 square meters. km The river basin runs along the border of permafrost, so the icy shores and huge ice - this is a characteristic state of the Indigirka water stream.
But between the estuary and the sea a shallow bar (a sandbank of marine and river sediment) formed.
Food, runoff and glaciation
Food Indigirka mixed type. Most of the rain and melt water. Moreover, under the latter option, it is supposed to turn snow, ice and ice into a liquid. The reservoir is inherent in the East Siberian type of regime. In the warm season, a constant flood occurs. It lasts from 70 to 100 days. But the river is covered with ice already in October, and this period lasts until May-June. An icebreaker takes about a week over a time period. The annual flow of water is about 58 km, most of it falls 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 are frosty and severe. At average air temperatures (minus 40-50 degrees Celsius) the river in some places freezes to the very bottom. In the village Oymyakon, which is located near the confluence of the river. Nera in Indigirka, the lowest temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere recorded. Soils at the bottom of alluvial origin.
Geographical areas and climate
Some rivers of Russia (including Indigirka) flow almost throughout the territory of the Republic of Yakutia. This means that the reservoir in the plant plan passes through different geographical zones. The river crosses the taiga and taiga forests in the upper reaches (the flora is represented by rare-leaved deciduous forests, thickets of cedar and alder dwarf forests), and the forest-tundra and tundra in the lower reaches (represented by shrubby and lichen). The Arctic desert is characteristic of a stream delta. Almost everywhere, the coast is swampy.
The climate is sharply continental. The average January temperatures are minus 40 ° C, the average for July is plus 14 ° C. Humidity is about 70%.
Tributaries
The tributaries of the Indigirka River are located both in the upper and lower reaches. On the upper border, they adjoin the stream: on the left - the Elga, Kuente, Kuydusun rivers, on the right - the largest tributary of the Indigirka River. Nera (196 km). In the lower border on the left are the tributaries of Uyandin, Allaikh, Selennyakh, Berelekh; the right ones are the Badyarikh and Moma rivers.
In addition to large tributaries, the Indigirka also has smaller ones - the small rivers Sarylakh, Talbykchan, Arga-Yuryakh, Achchygy-Chagachannakh, Atabyt-Yuryakh and others. The tributaries, like the Indigirka itself, are fed by rain and meltwater.
Territory development
The development of the reservoir began only at the beginning of the XVII century, when Tobolsk Cossacks came to Siberia. The first settlement on the banks of the Indigirka River was founded in 1639 by the Cossack Postnik Ivanov - Zashiversky prison. The village was inhabited until the end of the XIX century. However, after the smallpox epidemic, the village died out. Now it is no longer populated, but there is a monument city.
Mass development by people began in the first half of the 18th century. In the river delta, there was the largest settlement on the coast - the Russian Mouth. At the end of the 19th century, 29 settlements existed on the banks of the stream.
Now on the coastline of the Indigirka there are 5 small villages: Ust-Nera (6,000 people), Chokurdakh (2,100 people), Belaya Gora (2,000 people), Oymyakon (500 people), Honuu (2,500 people. ) Chokurdah settlement is the northernmost port of Russia.
In addition to the local population, people are attracted to these places by gold deposits. Gold is being mined on the banks of the river. The Moma River basin has coal deposits.
Fauna
Indigirka is rich in representatives of ichthyofauna. About 30 species of fish found their home in the waters of the river. Fishery at the mouth is quite popular. The most common commercial species of aquatic animals Indigirki: vendace, omul and chir. In addition to these representatives, others are known: muksun, whitefish, burbot.
In addition, endangered species of fish are found in the waters of the Indigirka, some of them are listed in the Red Book. This, for example, the Siberian sturgeon - the representative is threatened with extinction. The population of nelm fish, Siberian vendace has decreased to critical standards. Recently, a ban has been imposed on catching fish of the muscun species.
Periodically, salmon: pink salmon and chum salmon come to spawn in the Indigirka delta.
In the summer season, the flow from the Honuu village is navigable. At this time, the river becomes the main waterway in the north-east of Russia.
Travels
Traveling along the Indigirka River is not an easy event, a dangerous area. But most of all, the severe temperature regime repels them. Students of geographical institutes often come here for research practices, since most of the coast of Indigirka has not yet been studied.
But there are enough adventurers everywhere, and kayaking, kayaking is carried out at the lower reaches of the stream. And here are wonderful places suitable for fishing and hunting.
The natural attractions of this region include Chersky ridge. Named in honor of the researcher of this region I.D. Chersky. Its highest point is the city of Pobeda (3,003 m.). It is the last major geographical feature mapped on Russia. It was discovered only in 1926 by the researcher S.V. Obruchev.
Fall and river slope
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 denotes the difference between these two indicators. According to some official information, the fall is about 1 thousand meters. The figure has an average level among other flows of Russia.
The slope of the Indigirka River is 58 m / km. This number is obtained as a result of the ratio of the fall to the size of the reservoir. In principle, the indicator is not so large, however, still being on the river, you should be extremely careful.