Moma (river)

The Moma (Мома; Муома, Muoma) is a river in Yakutia in Russia, a right tributary of the Indigirka. The length of the river is 406 km, the area of its drainage basin is 30200 km2.

The extinct cinder cone volcanoes Balagan-Tas and Uraga-Tas are some of the main features of the Moma Natural Park.

Course
The Moma originates from Lake Sisyktyah on the northern slope of the Ulakhan Chistay Range, the highest subrange of the Chersky Range. The river flows in the wide intermontane basin separating the Ulakhan Chistay Range from the Moma Range in the north and flows into the Indigirka about 1086 km from its mouth.

There are black coal deposits in the river basin. The district centre – the village of Khonuu – is located at the mouth of the river.

Etymology
The name comes from the Evenki language, “мома” means "wood, timber, tree". This is the name for the rivers with steep, easy to wash banks that crumble together with trees growing on them, cluttering the river bed.

Hydrology
Rain, snow and ice feed the river. It freezes in October, the ice breaks up in late May – early June. In the middle and lower courses the river bed abounds rocky rapids, icing is typical. The average annual water consumption – 377 km from the mouth – is 11.02 m3/s. The river is not navigable.