TheIndigirka (Russian:Индиги́рка;Yakut:Индигиир,romanized: İndigiir) is a river in theSakha Republic inRussia between theYana to the west and theKolyma to the east. It is 1,726 kilometres (1,072 mi) long. The area of itsbasin is 360,000 square kilometres (140,000 sq mi).[1]
The isolated village ofRusskoye Ustye, located on thedelta of the Indigirka, is known for the unique traditional culture of the Russian settlers whose ancestors came there several centuries ago. Some historians have speculated that Russkoye Ustye was settled byPomors in the early 17th century.[2]
In 1638 explorer Ivan Rebrov reached the Indigirka.[3] In 1636–42 Elisei Buza pioneered the overland route to the Indigirka river system. At about the same time, Poznik Ivanov ascended a tributary of the lower Lena, crossed the Verkhoyansk Range to the upper Yana, and then crossed theChersky Range to the Indigirka. In 1642Mikhail Stadukhin reached the Indigirka overland from the Lena.[3]
Zashiversk on the Indigirka was an important colonial outpost during the early days of Russian colonization. It was subsequently abandoned in the 19th century. Other historical settlements, now long abandoned, were Podshiversk and Uyandinskoye Zimov'ye.
In 1892–94Baron Eduard Von Toll carried out geological surveys in the basin of the Indigirka (among other Far-eastern Siberian rivers) on behalf of the Russian Academy of Sciences. During one year and two days the expedition covered 25,000 kilometres (16,000 mi), of which 4,200 kilometres (2,600 mi) were up rivers, carrying out geodesic surveys en route.
It originates at the confluence of the 251 kilometres (156 mi) longTuora-Yuryakh (also known as Khastakh, Khalkan or Kalkan) river[4] and the 63 kilometres (39 mi) longTaryn-Yuryakh,[5] both of which originate on the slopes of theKhalkan Range.
In its higher course, the river flows northwestwards along theYana-Oymyakon Highlands, through the lowest part of theOymyakon Plateau. Turning north, it cuts through several subranges of theChersky Range. At the point where it crosses theChemalgin Range the river narrows and flows into a deep gorge, forming rapids.Where it is joined by theMoma river from the southeast, the Indigirka reaches the Momo-Selennyakh Depression, a wideintermontane basin, and the middle course of the river begins, where its valley expands. Turning northwards, the Indigirka cuts deeply across theMoma Range and flows northeastwards meandering across theAby Lowland and widening to 500 m (1,600 ft). After flowing between the neck formed by the eastern end of thePolousny Range and the western end of theUlakhan-Chistay Range, it flows north with theKondakov Plateau to the east across theYana-Indigirka Lowland, part of the greaterEast Siberian Lowland. Further north, where the terrain becomes completely flat, the Indigirka divides into branches 130 km (81 mi) from the mouth, forming a 5,500 km2 (2,100 sq mi) wide delta. Its waters end up in theKolyma Bay,East Siberian Sea.Gusinaya Bay is located to the northwest of the mouths of the Indigirka.[6]
The Indigirka freezes up in October and stays under the ice until May–June.
There is agold prospecting industry in the Indigirka basin.Ust-Nera, a gold-mining center, is the largest settlement on the river.
The Indigirka teems with a variety of fishes. Among the most valuable are severalwhitefish species, such asvendace,chir,muksun,inconnu (nelma),omul, etc.
The Indigirka forms a largedelta, consisting of a number of streams (each one being labeled on Russian maps as aпротока (protóka) (river arm)) and islands. About 100 kilometres (62 mi) before reaching the East Siberian Sea (70°48′45″N148°54′58″E / 70.8126°N 148.9162°E /70.8126; 148.9162), the river splits into two major northeast-flowingstreams. The left (westernmost) arm is known as theRussko-Ustyinskaya Protoka; the right arm, theSrednyaya Protoka (Russian for the "Middle Arm"). Further downstream, the third major arm, theKolymskaya Protoka splits off theSrednyaya Protoka as its right (eastern) distributary, thus justifying the "middle" moniker for the Srednyaya Protoka.[7]
WhileSrednyaya Protoka means the "Middle Arm", the names of the main western and eastern arms indicate their relative location as well. TheKolymskaya Protoka, orKolymskoye Ustye is the arm one located on the eastern side, i.e. the "Kolyma side" of the delta (the arm closest to theKolyma, the eastern neighbor of the Indigirka). TheRussko-Ustyinskaya Protoka, apparently known earlier as simplyRusskoye Ustye[8] is the arm one located on the western side, i.e. the "Russian side" of the delta (meaning, the side closest to the (European) Russia). These days the name of theRussko-Ustyinskaya Protoka appears as if it were formed from the name of the old Russian villageRusskoye Ustye situated there, but originally the opposite is likely to have been the case, the village is named after the river arm (theRusskoye Ustye) on which it was located.
Several flat islands are formed by the channels of the delta. Listed from the east to the west, the major ones are:
^abLantzeff, George V., and Richard A. Pierce (1973).Eastward to Empire: Exploration and Conquest on the Russian Open Frontier, to 1750. Montreal: McGill-Queen's U.P.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
