The Putorana Plateau () or the Putorana Mountains is a

mountainous A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

area in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. It is a large

massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...

or plateau crossed by mountain ranges. The nearest large settlement is

Norilsk Norilsk ( rus, Нори́льск, p=nɐˈrʲilʲsk) is a closed city in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located south of the western Taymyr Peninsula, around 90 km east of the Yenisei, Yenisey River and 1,500 km north of Krasnoyarsk. Norilsk is 300 ...

, where foreign travel is restricted. The city is served by

Alykel Airport Alykel International Airport () is a large international airport in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located west of Norilsk. Alykel is the only functional airfield near Norilsk. It handles medium-sized aircraft and is serviced by 24-hour operations. ...

. File:SNOW ON THE PUTORANA PLATEAU.jpg, The ranges of the Putorana covered in snow make it stand out among the neighboring lower plateaus. To the upper left the

Yenisei The Yenisey or Yenisei ( ; , ) is the fifth-longest river system in the world, and the largest to drain into the Arctic Ocean. Rising in Mungaragiyn-gol in Mongolia, it follows a northerly course through Lake Baikal and the Krasnoyarsk Dam b ...

valley.

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

image. The area of the mountains contains some of the largest known

nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...

deposits in the world.

Geography

The Putorana Plateau is a high-lying

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

crossed by mountain ranges at the northwestern edge of the

Central Siberian Plateau The Central Siberian Plateau (; ) is a vast mountainous area in Siberia, one of the Great Russian Regions. Geography The plateau occupies a great part of central Siberia between the Yenisei and Lena rivers. It is located in the Siberian Plat ...

. It is located east of the

Yenisei River The Yenisey or Yenisei ( ; , ) is the list of rivers by length, fifth-longest river system in the world, and the largest to drain into the Arctic Ocean. Rising in Mungaragiyn-gol in Mongolia, it follows a northerly course through Lake Baikal a ...

valley, between 67° and 70° N of latitude, southwest of the

Anabar Plateau The Anabar Plateau () is a mountain plateau in Krasnoyarsk Krai and the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Siberia, Russia. The plateau is in a latitude dominated by permafrost. The permafrost thickness under the Anabar Plateau reaches . Geography The A ...

, north of the Syverma and Tunguska plateaus and south of the

North Siberian Lowland The North Siberian Lowland (; ), also known as Taymyr Lowland (), is a plain with a relatively flat relief separating the Byrranga Mountains of the Taymyr Peninsula in the north from the Central Siberian Plateau in the south. To the southeast ...

Google Earth Google Earth is a web mapping, web and computer program created by Google that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satelli ...

The main subranges of the Putorana are the Keta Range, Lontokoisky Kamen, Kharayelakh Range, Chaya-Ayan, Brus Kamen, and Lama Range, among others. The highest mountain in the range system is Mount Kamen which stands above sea level and is also the highest point of the Central Siberian Plateau.

Talnikovy Waterfall The Talnikovy Waterfall () is a 700 m high seasonal waterfall in the Putorana Mountains, the northwestern part of the Central Siberian Plateau in the north of Siberia, Russia (Asia). With this height of fall from several cascades it belongs ...

is reputedly one of the highest waterfalls in Asia. Lakes on the plateau such as the

Dyupkun Lake Dyupkun (Дюпкун) is a vast, isolated lake stretching for in the southwest of the Putorana Plateau in Northern Siberia. The Kureika River flows through the lake from south to north. It lies on marshy ground at the bottom of a valley and ...

and

Lake Lama Lake Lama () is a large freshwater lake (of tectonic origin) in Krasnoyarsk Krai, north-central part of Russia. Geography Lake Lama is located in the Putorana Plateau area at , 140 km east off the city of Norilsk, and has an area of 318 ...

are large and form whole ecosystems, which spread over many tens of kilometers. “Putorana” is from the native language of the

Evenks The Evenki, also known as the Evenks and formerly as the Tungus, are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic people of North Asia. In Russia, the Evenki are recognised as one of the Indigenous peoples of the Russian North, indigenous peoples of the Russi ...

and translates to “the country of lakes with steep banks”. The more than 25,000 lakes are between deep, and together they form the second-largest store of fresh water in Russia by capacity after

Lake Baikal Lake Baikal is a rift lake and the deepest lake in the world. It is situated in southern Siberia, Russia between the Federal subjects of Russia, federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast, Irkutsk Oblasts of Russia, Oblast to the northwest and the Repu ...

. Russia's geographical center,

Lake Vivi Lake Vivi (Russian language: о́зеро ''Ви́ви'') is a lake in Evenkia, Siberia, Russia. The area of the lake is . The lake is located in a remote area and has no permanent settlements along its banks. It is known for having the geogra ...

, is situated on the southern limit of the plateau, where it overlaps with the

Syverma Plateau The Syverma Plateau () is a mountain plateau in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Siberia, Russia. It is a part of the Central Siberian Plateau. The plateau is located in largely uninhabited area. Geography The Syverma Plateau is located in central Krasnoyarsk ...

Geology

The Putorana area is mainly composed of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

from the

Siberian Traps The Siberian Traps () are a large region of volcanic rock, known as a large igneous province, in Siberia, Russia. The massive eruptive event that formed the trap rock, traps is one of the largest known Volcano, volcanic events in the last years ...

.Путорана,

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; , ''BSE'') is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Great Russian Enc ...

in 30 vols. / Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov . - 3rd ed. - M, 1969-1978.

Climate

The Putorana region is located above the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

. The climate is a harsh

subarctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of hemiboreal regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Fennoscandia, Northwestern Russia, Siberia, and the Cair ...

, sharply

continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (album), an album by Saint Etienne * Continen ...

, with long, severely cold winters, and short, cool summers. However, in certain lake valleys, such as Lake Lama, there is a somewhat milder

microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often slightly but sometimes substantially. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square m ...

owing to the protection afforded by neighboring ranges from the northern winds. The higher elevations within the plateau transition to a

tundra climate The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. It is classified as ET according to the Köppen climate classification. It is a climate which at least one month has an average temperature high enough ...

. Spring, summer and autumn fall respectively in the months of June, July, and August, the remaining months are winter with temperatures between and . In July, the warmest month, average air temperatures stay around and may reach a maximum of . Precipitation is between and , falling mainly in the summer in the form of rain. The snow cover in winter is relatively sparse.

Protected area

The

Putorana Nature Reserve Putoransky State Nature Reserve( ''Путоранский заповедник'' ) is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict nature reserve) in the northern part of Central Siberia in Russia, Russian Federation, located about 100 km north of the Arc ...

, established in 1988 and administered from Norilsk, is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

covering some with a buffer zone of . It was set up to protect the world's largest herd of wild

reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...

, as well as

snow sheep The snow sheep (''Ovis nivicola''), or Siberian bighorn sheep, is a species of sheep from the mountainous areas in the northeast of Siberia. One subspecies, the Putorana snow sheep ''(Ovis nivicola borealis)'', lives isolated from the other forms ...

. In July

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, the Putorana Reserve was inscribed on the

World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

as "a complete set of subarctic and arctic ecosystems in an isolated mountain range, including pristine

taiga Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. In North A ...

, forest

tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

, tundra and arctic desert systems, as well as untouched cold-water lake and river systems".

Natural resources

The Plateau's minerals include igneous

basalt rocks Basalt Rocks () are volcanic rock outcrops in the form of columnar basalt located in Sinop Province, northern Turkey. The area is a registered natural monument of the country. It is away from the center of Boyabat in Sinop Province, and situa ...

, iron ores (

magnetite Magnetite is a mineral and one of the main iron ores, with the chemical formula . It is one of the iron oxide, oxides of iron, and is ferrimagnetism, ferrimagnetic; it is attracted to a magnet and can be magnetization, magnetized to become a ...

and

hematite Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...

), silicates (

prehnite Prehnite is an inosilicate of calcium and aluminium with the formula: Ca2Al(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 with limited Fe3+ substitutes for aluminium in the structure. Prehnite crystallizes in the orthorhombic crystal system, and most often forms as stalactitic ...

zeolite Zeolites are a group of several microporous, crystalline aluminosilicate minerals commonly used as commercial adsorbents and catalysts. They mainly consist of silicon, aluminium, oxygen, and have the general formula ･y where is either a meta ...

apatite Apatite is a group of phosphate minerals, usually hydroxyapatite, fluorapatite and chlorapatite, with high concentrations of Hydroxide, OH−, Fluoride, F− and Chloride, Cl− ion, respectively, in the crystal. The formula of the admixture of ...

perovskite Perovskite (pronunciation: ) is a calcium titanium oxide mineral composed of calcium titanate (chemical formula ). Its name is also applied to the class of compounds which have the same type of crystal structure as , known as the perovskite (stru ...

s and highly saturated

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

and

ores. The

natural resource Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...

s are presented by abundant water and

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

Gallery

File:4Y1A9935 (28857283052).jpg , Mountains near

, at the northwest end of the Putorana Plateau. Notice the wooded taiga in the foreground, near the lake and at lower elevation, in contrast to the treeless tundra landscape in the mountains in the background. File:Putorana. Lama lake..jpg ,

File:Плато Путорана 01.jpg , Putorana landscape File:Putorana Plateau, Siberia ESA367705.jpg, From space File:Plato Putorana 03.jpg, Putorana Plateau is composed of

References

External links

Official website of the Putorana Nature Reserve
* ttps://gotosiberia.com/eng/blog/putorana_plateau.html Sights of Putorana Plateaubr>Virtual tour to the Putorana Plateau
Central Siberian Plateau World Heritage Sites in Russia Landforms of Krasnoyarsk Krai Lava plateaus {{KrasnoyarskKrai-geo-stub