Kele (river)

Kele
*Кэлэ*
Kele; Кэлэ
	Sordogin Range and course of the Kele
	Mouth location in Yakutia, Russia
Location
Country	Russian Federation
Physical characteristics
Source	Lake Chagdai,; Verkhoyansk Range
Mouth	Aldan River
• coordinates	63°20′15″N 130°22′44″E / 63.33750°N 130.37889°ECoordinates: 63°20′15″N 130°22′44″E / 63.33750°N 130.37889°E
Length	242 km (150 mi)
Basin size	8,620 km2 (3,330 sq mi)
Basin features
Progression	Aldan→ Lena→ Laptev Sea

The Kele (Russian: Келе; Yakut: Кэлэ) is a river in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia, a right tributary of the Aldan, part of the Lena basin.

The Kele has a length of 242 kilometres (150 mi) and a drainage basin area of 8,620 square kilometres (3,330 sq mi).^[1] There are no settlements in the area of the river. The nearest village is Segyan-Kyuyol to the west, in the Tumara basin.^[2]

Course[]

The Kele originates in a small lake (1.5 km² (0.58 sq mi)) in the slopes of the southwestern Verkhoyansk Range. In the upper section of its course the river flows across mountainous terrain, heading roughly southwestwards in a narrow valley bound by the Munni Range on the western and the on the eastern side. There are seven ice fields in the river basin with a total area of 28 km² (11 sq mi).^[3]^[4]

After leaving the mountainous area the Kele flows roughly in the same direction in its middle and lower course. It meanders across a floodplain dotted with about 900 lakes where the riverbed divides into slowly-flowing arms. Finally the Kele meets the right bank of the Aldan River, a little upstream from the mouth of the Tumara and downstream of the Tukulan.^[5]^[3]^[6] The river freezes between mid October and mid May.^[4]

The Kele's main tributary is the 98 km (61 mi) long Eyeges (Эйэгес), having its source in the and joining it from the right side.^[4]