| Eastern Khandyga | |
| Other Name: | Восточная Хандыга / Илиҥҥи Хаандыга |
| Source1: | Suntar-Khayata |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 62.9361°N 139.2344°W |
| Mouth: | Aldan River |
| Mouth Elevation: | 115m (377feet) |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 62.5281°N 135.6075°W |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | Russian Federation |
| Length: | 290km (180miles) |
| Discharge1 Avg: | 27.3m3/s |
| Basin Size: | 9950km2 |
| Pushpin Map: | Russia Sakha Republic |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Mouth location in Yakutia, Russia |
The Eastern Khandyga (Russian: Восточная Хандыга; Yakut: Илиҥҥи Хаандыга) is a river in Tompo District, Yakutia (Sakha Republic), Russian Federation, a right tributary of the Aldan, part of the Lena basin. It has a length of 290km (180miles) and a drainage basin area of 9950km2.
Tyoply Klyuch village is located by the banks of the river. The nearest relatively larger inhabited place in the area is Khandyga, to the north of the river's mouth.[1] There is a 389m (1,276feet) long bridge of the R504 Kolyma Highway across the Eastern Khandyga.[2] [3]
The Eastern Khandyga has its sources in the western section of the Suntar-Khayata Range. The river heads roughly westwards and cuts across the Skalisty Range and the Sette Daban. After the river exits the mountain area it enters a wide floodplain, dividing into many channels and flowing roughly southwestwards. Finally if meets the right bank of the Aldan River a little downstream from the mouth of the Tyry, 467km (290miles) from the confluence of the Aldan with the Lena River.[4] [5] [6]
The main tributaries of the Eastern Khandyga are the 113km (70miles) long Onyollo (Өнньөлө) and the 94km (58miles) long Sakkyryr (Саккырыыр) on the left. The river freezes before mid October and stays frozen until mid May. There are about 300 lakes in the river basin, as well as 30 icings with a total area of 42km2.[7]
Fossils of ammonites of the genus Otoceras were found in the Induan (Early Triassic) desosits in the upper reaches of this river.[8]
The slopes of the ranges in the upper reaches of the river provide a habitat for the Siberian Apollo butterfly, endemic to the mountains of the Yana — Kolyma watershed.[9]
