| Kuoyka | |
| Other Name: | Куойка |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 71.0642°N 117.8683°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | ca 175m (574feet) |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 70.485°N 120.5267°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 24m (79feet) |
| Length: | 294km (183miles) |
| Basin Size: | 4750km2 |
| Pushpin Map: | Russia Sakha Republic#Russia |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Mouth location in Yakutia, Russia |
The Kuoyka or Kuoika (Russian: Куойка; Yakut: Куойка) is a river in Yakutia (Sakha Republic), Russian Federation. It is a tributary of the Olenyok with a length of 294km (183miles) and a drainage basin area of 4750km2. The Kuoyka flows north of the Arctic Circle across a lonely, desolate area of the Olenyoksky District devoid of settlements.
The name of the river comes from the Nganasan word "kuoika", (куойка), meaning a household deity.[1]
The Kuoika is a left tributary of the Olenyok. Its sources are at the limit of the Northern Siberian Lowland, off the northeastern end of the Central Siberian Plateau.[2] It flows roughly eastwards to the southwest and south of the Beyenchime in an area with numerous lakes. In its last stretch the Kuoika turns in a SSE direction entering the Central Siberian Plateau area. It meanders strongly in its southernmost section within a wide gorge until it meets the left bank of the Olenyok 473km (294miles) from its mouth.[3] [4] [5]
The river is frozen between early October and early June.[2] Its main tributary is the 169km (105miles) long Sektelyakh from the right. Other tributaries are much shorter, such as the 42km (26miles) long Kuchchugui-Kuoyka, the 39km (24miles) long Kusagan-Khayalakh and the 36km (22miles) long Oyur from the left.
The last, tortuous stretch of the river was described in such terms by Yuri Tsenin in Vokrug sveta:
