The Alazeya River is a river in the northeastern part of Yakutia, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 which flows into the Arctic between the basins of the larger Indigirka River

Indigirka River

The Indigirka River is a river in the Sakha Republic in Russia between the Yana River and the Kolyma River. It is in length. The area of its basin is 360,000 km²...

 to the west and the Kolyma River

Kolyma River

The Kolyma River is a river in northeastern Siberia, whose basin covers parts of the Sakha Republic, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, and Magadan Oblast of Russia. Itrises in the mountains north of Okhotsk and Magadan, in the area of and...

 to the east. The river is 1590 kilometres (988 mi) long. The area of its basin

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

 is 64,700 km², It crosses through the tundra and is full of lakes and marshes.

The Alazeya is formed by the confluence of the Nelkan and Kadylchan Rivers and drains into the Kolyma Bay

Kolyma Bay

The Kolyma Bay is one of the main gulfs of the East Siberian Sea.The bay gets its name from the Kolyma Lowlands, whose coastline forms the whole eastern half of this bay. The Kolyma Lowlands are dotted with numerous lakes and swamps...

 of the East Siberian Sea

East Siberian Sea

The East Siberian Sea is a marginal sea in the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the Arctic Cape to the north, the coast of Siberia to the south, the New Siberian Islands to the west and Cape Billings, close to Chukotka, and Wrangel Island to the east...

, close to Logashkino

Logashkino

Logashkino was a settlement in Nizhnekolymsky Ulus of the Sakha Republic, Russia, which was abolished in 1998. It was a trading post on the shores of the Kolyma Bay, East Siberian Sea, located in the Logashkino harbor. Elevation: ....

.

It freezes up in late September - early October and stays icebound until late May - early June. The biggest tributary of the Alazeya is the Rossokha River.

There are more than 24,000 lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

s in the basin of the Alazeya River.

History

Dmitrii Zyryan was the first Russian to reach the Alazeya in 1641, but did not found a permanent settlement.