Chyolomdzha

River in Magadan Oblast, Russia

60°34′05″N 145°41′10″E / 60.56806°N 145.68611°E / 60.56806; 145.68611 MouthTaui

• coordinates

59°46′52″N 148°15′19″E / 59.78111°N 148.25528°E / 59.78111; 148.25528^[1]Length228 km (142 mi)Basin size12,000 km² (4,600 sq mi)Discharge • average132 m³/s (4,700 cu ft/s) Basin featuresProgressionTaui → Sea of Okhotsk

The Chyolomdzha (Russian: Чёломджа; Even: Чаламдя) is a river in Magadan Oblast, Russia. It has a length of 228 kilometres (142 mi) and a drainage basin of 12,000 square kilometres (4,600 sq mi).^[2]

The Chyolomdzha is the longest tributary of the Taui (Kava) and flows across an uninhabited area, part of the Magadan Nature Reserve.^[3] The name of the river originated in the Even language.^[4]

Course

The source of the Chyolomdzha is in the Upper Kolyma Highlands. The river heads in a roughly southern direction, flowing fast across mountainous terrain, then it turns to the southeast descending into a floodplain where it slows down and splits into multiple sleeves, while the channels form meanders. Finally the Chyolomdzha joins the left bank of the Taui in the wide Kava-Taui Plain, 66 kilometres (41 mi) from its mouth in the Sea of Okhotsk.^[3]^[1]^[5]

The river freezes yearly between early October and late May.^[5] Its main tributary is the 124 km (77 mi) long Burgagylkan (Бургагылкан), joining its left bank in the lower course.^[2]

Fauna

Different species of salmonids live in the waters of the Chyolomdzha, including chum salmon, malma, coho salmon and kundzha, as well as grayling.

The banks of the river provide a habitat for the Blakiston's fish owl, an endangered species.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b Google Earth
^ ^a ^b "Река Чёломджа in the State Water Register of Russia". textual.ru (in Russian).
^ ^a ^b "Топографска карта O-55 - Topographic USSR Chart (in Russian)". Retrieved 18 March 2022.
^ Leontyev V.V. , Novikova K.A. Toponymic dictionary of the North-East of the USSR, USSR Academy of Sciences. Magadan, 1989 - p. 409 - ISBN 5-7581-0044-7
^ ^a ^b Taui - Water of Russia
^ Успешное гнездование рыбного филина в Магаданском заповеднике (in Russian)