Chaya (river)

Chaya
Чая
Chaya; Чая
	View of the river
	Mouth location in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia
Location
Country	Russia
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Upper Angara Range, Buryatia
• coordinates	56°17′06″N 110°37′30″E / 56.28500°N 110.62500°E
• elevation	1,775 m (5,823 ft)
Mouth	Lena
• location	Irkutsk Oblast
• coordinates	58°14′11″N 109°33′26″E / 58.23639°N 109.55722°E
• elevation	228 m (748 ft)
Length	353 km (219 mi)
Basin size	11,400 km2 (4,400 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	180 m3/s (6,400 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Progression	Lena→ Laptev Sea

The Chaya (Russian: Чая) is a river in Buryatia and Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. It is the 26th longest tributary of the Lena, with a length of 353 kilometres (219 mi)^[1] and a drainage basin area of 11,400 square kilometres (4,400 sq mi).^[2]^[3] The Chaya flows across Kirensky District, there are no settlements on the banks of the river.^[1]

In the International scale of river difficulty the Chaya is a Class IV-V destination for rafting and kayaking.^[1]

Course

The Chaya is a right

glacial valley in its upper course. Then it flows across the North Baikal Highlands within a narrow valley, with the Akitkan Range to the west, easing into the Prebaikal Depression in a roughly NNW direction, where its channel divides into branches. The riverbed is very rocky all along. Finally the Chaya meets the right bank of the Lena, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) downstream from Kirensk,^[4] 3,017 kilometres (1,875 mi) from the Lena's mouth in the Laptev Sea.^[3]

The main tributaries of the Chaya are the Magdana, Nalimda and Limpeya from the right, and the Olokit, Abchada and Kilyakta from the left. Snow falls usually from November to March in the area of the river.[1]