Chona

For people with the surname, see Chona (surname).

The Chona (Russian: Чона; Yakut: Чуона, Çuona) is a river in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) and Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. It is a right hand tributary of the Vilyuy, and is 802 kilometres (498 mi) long, with a drainage basin of 40,600 square kilometres (15,700 sq mi).^[1]

Chona Чона / Чуона
Chona meanders Sentinel-2 image
Mouth location in the Sakha Republic, Russia
Location
Country	Sakha & Irkutsk Oblast
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Lena Plateau
• coordinates	59°26′10″N 108°49′44″E
• elevation	468 m (1,535 ft)
Mouth	Vilyuy
• location	Vilyuy Reservoir
• coordinates	62°04′31″N 110°41′27″E
• elevation	246 m (807 ft)
Length	802 km (498 mi)
Basin size	40,600 km2 (15,700 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	125 m3/s (4,400 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Progression	Vilyuy→ Lena→ Laptev Sea

The Russian Geographical Society organized an expedition in 1853–55 to survey the orography, geology and population of the Vilyuy and Chona basins.^[2]

Course

The river begins in the Lena Plateau, part of the Central Siberian Plateau, at an elevation of 317 metres (1,040 ft). It flows roughly northeastwards forming rapids which make the river not navigable. The lowest 170 km (110 mi) of its course were flooded by the Vilyuy Reservoir after the Vilyuy Dam was built in 1967. The river freezes between October and late May.^[3]

The main tributaries of the Chona are the 362 kilometres (225 mi) long Vakunayka and the 105 kilometres (65 mi) long Ichoda on the right, and the 158 kilometres (98 mi) long Dekinde, the 122 kilometres (76 mi) long Delinde and the 109 kilometres (68 mi) long Markhaya on the left. There are no permanent settlements by the Chona.^[4]

The T-shaped Chona-Vilyuy River system with the Chona in the lower left.

See also

• List of rivers of Russia