a river in Taimyr (Dolgan-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug, Krasnoiarsk Krai, RSFSR. The Khatanga River, which is formed by the confluence of the Kotui and Kheta rivers, is 227 km long and drains an area of 364,000 sq km. It empties into the Khatanga Gulf of the Laptev Sea and forms an estuary. The river flows through a broad valley in the Northern Siberian Lowland and forks into branches. In the lower course the valley is as wide as 5 km, and there are many large islands in the channel.
The area drained by the Khatanga River includes about 112,000 lakes, with a total area of 11,600 sq km (3.2 percent of the river is lakes). The density of the river network is 0.45 km per sq km. The river is fed chiefly by snow. High water occurs from late May through August. The water level of the river varies up to 8.5 m over the course of the year; in the lower course there are tides in the low water. The mean flow rate is 3,320 cu m/sec, with a maximum of 18,300 cu m/sec.
The river freezes in late September or early October and thaws in early June. The principal right tributaries are the Nizhniaia, Bludnaia, and Popigai rivers; the principal left tributaries are the Novaia and Malaia Balakhnia. The Khatanga River is rich in fish; commercial catches include least cisco, arctic cisco, muksun, nelma, Hucho, and loach. The river is navigable; the Khatanga landing is located on the river.