| Chondon | |
| Other Name: | Чондон / Чондоон |
| Pushpin Map: | Russia Sakha Republic |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Mouth location in the Sakha Republic, Russia |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Length: | 606km (377miles) |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 69.8097°N 137.93°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 640m (2,100feet) |
| Mouth Elevation: | 0m (00feet) |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 71.2403°N 138.1614°W |
| Discharge1 Avg: | 20m3/s |
| Basin Size: | 18900km2 |
The Chondon (Russian: Чондон;[1] Yakut: Чондоон, Çondoon) is a river in Ust-Yansky District, Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia. It is 606km (377miles) long, with a drainage basin of 18900km2.[2]
The Chondon mammoth was discovered in 2013 in the Chondon basin, at the feet of the Polousny Range, 66 km south-west of the village of Tumat. It had died at the age of 47 to 50 years.[3]
The river begins in the northern slopes of the Selennyakh Range at an elevation of 640m (2,100feet). It flows roughly northwards west of the Yana River across the Yana-Indigirka Lowland meandering strongly among marshy areas and lakes. In its lower course it flows parallel to the Sellyakh in the east.[4] Yarok Island lies across its mouth, in the Chondon Bay, by the Yana Bay of the Laptev Sea.[5] [6]
There are over 6,600 lakes in the Chondon basin, with a total area of 497km2. The river freezes yearly between early October and early June.[7]
The main tributaries of the Chondon are the 170km (110miles) long Buor-Yuryakh, with its source in the Kyundyulyun, from the left, as well as the 142km (88miles) long Ygaanna (Ыгаанньа), the 104km (65miles) long Dodomo and the 243km (151miles) long Nuchcha (Нучча) from the right.[4]
Among the fish species found in the river, muksun, nelma, omul and vendace deserve mention.[8]
