Belaya (Russian: Белая; in its upper course Yurumkuveyem, Russian: Юрумкувеем; Chukot: Кувлючьывээм, Kuwljuc'ywēm) is a river in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug of the Russian Far East. It is a south-flowing right tributary of the Anadyr River.
Geography
The river originates as the Yurumkuveyem in the northern Anadyr Mountains, north of Lake Elgygytgyn. It flows southwards across the eastern edge of the Anadyr Highlands and the Pekulney Range. Downstream from its confluence with the Enmyvaam (which drains Lake Elgygytgyn), the river is named Belaya. It continues through the Parapol-Belsky Lowlands at the head of the Anadyr Lowlands and meets the Anadyr River more than 300 km from the Anadyr's mouth. The village of Ust-Belaya lies at the confluence.
- Length: 396 km (246 mi); 487 km (303 mi) from the furthest source of the Bolshoy Pykarvaam.
- Basin size: 44,700 km² (17,300 sq mi).
- Average discharge: 402 m³/s (14,200 cu ft/s).
- Mouth elevation: 20 m (66 ft).
Main tributaries
- Left: Bolshoy Pykarvaam, Chaavaam, Bolshaya Osinovaya.
- Right: Enmyvaam (drains Lake Elgygytgyn).
Hydrology
The Belaya and its tributaries are frozen for approximately eight to nine months each year.
Fauna
The Belaya River is known to host the whitefish species Coregonus cylindraceus (commonly known as the round whitefish or Siberian whitefish).
Settlements
The only notable settlement along the river is Ust-Belaya, a rural locality (selo) in Anadyrsky District, located at the confluence of the Belaya and the Anadyr.
