| Kuta | |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 57.5547°N 105.895°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 650m (2,130feet) |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 56.7542°N 105.6569°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 284m (932feet) |
| Length: | 408km (254miles) |
| Basin Size: | 12500km2 |
| Tributaries Right: | Kupa |
| Pushpin Map: | Russia Irkutsk Oblast |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Mouth location in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia |
The Kuta is a Siberian river north of Lake Baikal in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, that flows into the Lena at Ust-Kut. With its right tributary, the Kupa, it forms a ‘T’ shape with the flat head pointing west and the point at Ust-Kut.The river is 408km (254miles) long and its basin is about 12500km2.[1]
Its source is about 650m (2,130feet) above sea level and its mouth, 284m (932feet). It flows first west and then south through the taiga and swampland of the Lena-Angara Plateau. At its juncture with the Kupa, it turns east and flows through a relatively narrow and deep valley to Ust-Kut. It is not navigable and is frozen from November to the middle of May. The upper course is practically uninhabited, but is used for forestry. The lower course has a few villages. The Baikal-Amur Mainline from Bratsk eastward runs along its north side for about 60km (40miles). The next river to the west is the Ilim. In Cossack times a portage from the Ilim to the Kuta connected the Yenisei and Lena basins.
The Kupa is a right tributary that flows directly north and joins the Kuta where it turns east.