Lake Taymyr (russian: Таймыр, Таймырское озеро, Taymyr, Taymyrskoye ozero) is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

of the central regions of the

Taymyr Peninsula The Taymyr Peninsula (russian: Таймырский полуостров, Taymyrsky poluostrov) is a peninsula in the Far North of Russia, in the Siberian Federal District, that forms the northernmost part of the mainland of Eurasia. Administrati ...

Krasnoyarsk Krai Krasnoyarsk Krai ( rus, Красноя́рский край, r=Krasnoyarskiy kray, p=krəsnɐˈjarskʲɪj ˈkraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), with its administrative center in the city of Krasnoyarsk, the third-largest city in Siber ...

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. It is located south of the

Byrranga Mountains The Byrranga Mountains (russian: го́ры Бырра́нга; ''Gory Byrranga'') are a mountain range in the middle of the Taymyr Peninsula, Siberia, Russia. Even though they were first explored in 1736, the Byrranga Mountains are one of the lea ...

Geography

Lake Taymyr is large, with a length of 165 km roughly east-to-west. It has an irregular shape with many arms projecting in different directions that cover a wide region. Its maximum width, however, is only about 23 km in its broadest area which is towards the eastern end of the lake. Lake Taymyr is covered with ice from late September until June. The main river flowing into its basin, from the west, is the Upper Taymyra. Other rivers flowing into it are the Zapadnaya, Severnaya, Bikada-Nguoma, Yamu-Tarida and Kalamissamo. The Lower Taymyra flows out of the lake northwards across the Byrranga mountain region. The tundra areas south of Lake Taymyr are full of smaller lakes and marshes. There are two quite large lakes east and southeast of the easternmost part of Lake Taymyr, which is Yamuneru Bay: 33 km east is Lake Kungusalakh, and 72 km southeast is Lake Portnyagino. Both lakes are about 20 km across.

Ecology

Lake Taymyr is teeming with many kinds of fish typical of cold Arctic waters, like

loach Loaches are fish of the superfamily Cobitoidea. They are freshwater, benthic (bottom-dwelling) fish found in rivers and creeks throughout Eurasia and northern Africa. Loaches are among the most diverse groups of fish; the 1249 known species of C ...

sig Sig used as a name may refer to: * Sig (given name) *Sig, Algeria, a city on the banks of the Sig River *Sig Alert, an alert for traffic congestion in California, named after Loyd Sigmon *Sig River, a river of Algeria also known as Mekerra sig (l ...

, and

muksun The muksun ''(Coregonus muksun)'' is a type of whitefish widespread in the Siberian Arctic waters. It is mostly found in the freshened areas of the Kara and Laptev Seas and up the major rivers, as well as in Lake Taymyr. Like all whitefishes, i ...

. But there is

overexploitation Overexploitation, also called overharvesting, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to replenish. The term app ...

of some fish species despite the remoteness of the area.Overexploitation of some fish species
/ref> Slight

plutonium Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibi ...

contamination has been detected in the sediments of Lake Taymyr. This is perhaps a consequence of wind-carried particles after the numerous atmospheric nuclear tests in

Novaya Zemlya Novaya Zemlya (, also , ; rus, Но́вая Земля́, p=ˈnovəjə zʲɪmˈlʲa, ) is an archipelago in northern Russia. It is situated in the Arctic Ocean, in the extreme northeast of Europe, with Cape Flissingsky, on the northern island, ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

Water temperatures

* Average water temperature in August: +7 °C * During winter, water temperature is slightly above 1 °C File:Karte Taimyr.png, Catchment Area File:Lake Taymyr-txu-oclc-6654394-ns-46-48-2nd-ed.jpg, Lake Taymyr. US military map 1964 г.

References

External links

{{Commons category
Encyclopedia.com

Taymyr area information and pictures

Biosphere reserves of Russia Taymyr North Siberian Lowland