Tompo

The Tompo (Томпо; Томпо) is a river in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia, a right tributary of the Aldan, part of the Lena basin. It has a length of 570 km and a drainage basin area of 42700 km2.

River Tompo gives its name to the Tompo District. It flows across desolate regions, Topolinoye being the only inhabited place in the long course of the river. The Tompo is not navigable.

Course
The Tompo originates in the southern slopes of the Elgi Plateau. For about 400 km, the river displays the characteristics of a typical mountain river, flowing within a deep and narrow valley bound by steep slopes.

In its uppermost course the Tompo runs roughly northward along the northern side of the Suntar-Khayata mountains; after roughly 80 km it turns and follows a generally westward direction for about 200 km through the southern part of the Elgi Plateau. Downstream from the mouth of the Delinya, its 2nd largest tributary, which flows from the central part of the Yana-Oymyakon Highlands, the Tompo bends SSE into a roughly 130 km long deep gorge, separating the Verkhoyansk Range proper to the northwest and the group of three parallel ranges formed by the Ulakhan-Bom, Sette-Daban and the Skalisty Range to the southeast. After the mouth of the Menkule River, it emerges from the mountains and, flowing in a southwesterly direction, enters the eastern side of the Central Yakutian Plain, where its valley becomes very wide and swampy, its riverbed dividing into lazily-flowing arms as the speed of the flow decreases. Finally the Tompo meets the right bank of the Aldan River, opposite Megino-Aldan village, upstream of the mouth of the Baray.

Tributaries
The main tributaries of the Tompo are the 189 km long Khunkhada and 357 km long Delinya from the right, as well as the 225 km long Menkule and 186 km long Tomporuk from the left. There are 1,662 lakes in the basin of the Tompo with a total area of 43.9 km2.