Key Facts about Kolyma River

Dec. 29, 2023

A Soviet-era Antonov-24 aircraft carrying 30 passengers landed safely on the frozen river Kolyma recently because of a pilot error.

About Kolyma River:

  • Location: It is a river in northeastern Siberia, far eastern Russia, rising in the Kolyma Mountains.
  • It is 2,129 km long and drains an area of 647,000 square km. 
  • Course:
    • In its upper course, it flows through narrow gorges with many rapids.
    • The Kolyma River cuts through the majestic Verkhoyansk Range, one of the longest mountain ranges in Siberia. 
    • Gradually, its valley widens, enters the wide, flat, and swampy Kolyma Lowland, and flows northeastward to discharge into the East Siberian Sea (a marginal sea in the Arctic Ocean). 
  • It is the largest river system underlain by continuous permafrost. For about eight months of the year (late September until early June), the river is frozen to depths of several meters.
  • It is primarily fed by spring snowmelt and summer rainfall. 
  • The entire basin is covered by tundra or thin, stunted forest and has a sparse human population. 
  • The river has a mean annual discharge of about 136 cubic kilometers of water per year, making it one of the six largest rivers to drain into the Arctic Ocean.

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