It was founded in 1936 as the new administrative center of Allaikhovsky District, which was established in 1931.[citation needed] It served as a river port on the Indigirka, connecting to sea traffic using the Northern Sea Route. Urban-type settlement status was granted to it in 1981.[2]
Chokurdakh is not connected with the outside world by any year-round roads. A winter road follows the Indigirka River upstream when it is frozen, traveling partly along the river ice, leading to Ust-Nera via Belaya Gora and Khonuu.
Chokurdakh is served by the Chokurdakh Airport, one of the most northerly airports in Russia, which may be unusable during strong winds and snowstorms.
Climate
Chokurdakh has an extreme subarctic climate (Dfc), bordering on polar. Temperatures have never risen above freezing from October 20 through to April 11. The record high is 32.0 °C (89.6 °F) on 23 July 2020 and the record low is −54.4 °C (−65.9 °F) on 9 January 1964.
^ abAccording to Article 7 of the Law #77-I, lower-level administrative divisions with the status of a settlement have their administrative centers in an inhabited locality with the status of an urban-type settlement. According to the Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Divisions of the Sakha Republic, Chokurdakh is the administrative center of the Settlement of Chokurdakh.
^ abcdefghiRegistry of the Administrative-Territorial Divisions of the Sakha Republic
^Всесоюзная перепись населения 1979 г. Национальный состав населения по регионам России [All Union Population Census of 1979. Ethnic composition of the population by regions of Russia] (XLS). Всесоюзная перепись населения 1979 года [All-Union Population Census of 1979] (in Russian). 1979 – via Demoscope Weekly (website of the Institute of Demographics of the State University—Higher School of Economics.
Official website of the Sakha Republic. Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Divisions of the Sakha Republic. Allaikhovsky DistrictArchived April 25, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. (in Russian)
Государственное Собрание (Ил Тумэн) Республики Саха (Якутия). Закон №172-З №351-III от 30 ноября 2004 г. «Об установлении границ и о наделении статусом муниципального района муниципальных образований Республики Саха (Якутия)», в ред. Закона №1535-З №597-V от 27 ноября 2015 г. «О внесении изменений в статьи 1 и 2 Закона Республики Саха (Якутия) "Об установлении границ и о наделении статусом муниципального района муниципальных образований Республики Саха (Якутия)"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Якутия", №245, 31 декабря 2004 г. (State Assembly (Il Tumen) of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic. Law #172-Z No. 351-III of November 30, 2004 On Establishing the Borders and on Granting the Municipal District Status to the Municipal Formations of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic, as amended by the Law #1535-Z No. 597-V of November 27, 2015 On Amending Articles 1 and 2 of the Law of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic "On Establishing the Borders and on Granting the Municipal District Status to the Municipal Formations of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic". Effective as of the day of the official publication.).
Государственное Собрание (Ил Тумэн) Республики Саха (Якутия). Закон №173-З №353-III от 30 ноября 2004 г. «Об установлении границ и о наделении статусом городского и сельского поселений муниципальных образований Республики Саха (Якутия)», в ред. Закона №1058-З №1007-IV от 25 апреля 2012 г. «О внесении изменений в Закон Республики Саха (Якутия) "Об установлении границ и о наделении статусом городского и сельского поселений муниципальных образований Республики Саха (Якутия)"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Якутия", №245, 31 декабря 2004 г. (State Assembly (Il Tumen) of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic. Law #173-Z No. 353-III of November 30, 2004 On Establishing the Borders and on Granting the Urban and Rural Settlement Status to the Municipal Formations of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic, as amended by the Law #1058-Z No. 1007-IV of April 25, 2012 On Amending the Law of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic "On Establishing the Borders and on Granting the Urban and Rural Settlement Status to the Municipal Formations of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic". Effective as of the day of the official publication.).