It begins at the
confluence of the rivers
Kotuy and
Kheta. The Khatanga is long ( including its headwater Kotuy); the
area of its
basin is . It flows into the
Khatanga Gulf of the
Laptev Sea, forming an
estuary. There are more than 112,000
lakes, with a total surface area of , in the basin of the river. The Khatanga freezes up in late September–early October and breaks up in early June. Its main tributaries are the
Nizhnyaya,
Bludnaya,
Popigay,
Novaya, and
Malaya Balakhnya. ==Fauna==