The area of the district is 50,900 square kilometers (19,700 sq mi).

[2] Its administrative center is the rural locality (a selo) of Verkh-Usugli.

[3] The Chersky and Yablonoi ranges stretch from NE to SW across the district, forming the watershed of rivers flowing to the Arctic Ocean on the northern side and rivers flowing to the Pacific Ocean in the southern side.

Kontalaksky Golets, the highest peak of the Yablonoi is located in the district, near Tungokochen.

Formerly there was communication by plane, but after the airport closed in the 1990s all the transport is by road, which is difficult in some seasons.