The Central Siberian Plateau (russian: Среднесибирское плоскогорье, Srednesibirskoye ploskogorye; sah, Орто Сибиир хаптал хайалаах сирэ) is a vast mountainous area in Siberia, one of the
Great Russian Regions
The Great Russian Regions (russian: Ландшафт России) are eight geomorphological areas in the Russian Federation displaying characteristic forms of relief. Seven of them are east of the Urals.
Geography
* Central Siberian Plateau, ...
.
Geography
The plateau occupies a great part of central
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
between the
Yenisei
The Yenisey (russian: Енисе́й, ''Yeniséy''; mn, Горлог мөрөн, ''Gorlog mörön''; Buryat language, Buryat: Горлог мүрэн, ''Gorlog müren''; Tuvan language, Tuvan: Улуг-Хем, ''Uluğ-Hem''; Khakas language, K ...
and
Lena
Lena or LENA may refer to:
Places
* Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso
* Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada
* Lena, Norway, a village in ...
rivers. It is located in the
Siberian Platform
Siberia, also known as Angaraland (or simply Angara) and Angarida, is an ancient craton in the heart of Siberia. Today forming the Central Siberian Plateau, it was an independent continent before the Permian period. The Verkhoyansk Sea, a passive ...
and extends over an area of , between the
Yenisei
The Yenisey (russian: Енисе́й, ''Yeniséy''; mn, Горлог мөрөн, ''Gorlog mörön''; Buryat language, Buryat: Горлог мүрэн, ''Gorlog müren''; Tuvan language, Tuvan: Улуг-Хем, ''Uluğ-Hem''; Khakas language, K ...
in the west and the
Central Yakutian Lowland
The Central Yakutian LowlandJohn Kimble (ed.), ''Cryosols: Permafrost-Affected Soils'' or Central Yakutian Lowlands (russian: Центральноякутская равнина; sah, Саха сирин ортоку намтала), also known as ...
in the east. To the south it is bound by the
Altai Mountains
The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The m ...
,
Salair Ridge
Salair Ridge (pronounced ''sah-lah-EER''; russian: Салаирский кряж) is an eroded plateau-type highland in the Southwestern Siberia, Russia, particularly in Altai Krai, Kemerovo and Novosibirsk Oblast. It is a natural continuation of A ...
,
Kuznetsk Alatau
Kuznetsk Alatau (russian: Кузнецкий Алатау) is a mountain range in southern Siberia, Russia. The range rises in the Altai-Sayan region of the South Siberian Mountains, northwest of Mongolia. The Siberian Railway skirts the norther ...
, the Eastern and Western
Sayan Mountains
The Sayan Mountains (russian: Саяны ''Sajany''; mn, Соёны нуруу, ''Soyonï nurû''; otk, 𐰚𐰇𐰏𐰢𐰤, Kögmen) are a mountain range in southern Siberia, Russia (Buryatia, Irkutsk Oblast, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Tuva Republic ...
and other mountains of
Tuva
Tuva (; russian: Тува́) or Tyva ( tyv, Тыва), officially the Republic of Tuva (russian: Респу́блика Тыва́, r=Respublika Tyva, p=rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə tɨˈva; tyv, Тыва Республика, translit=Tyva Respublika ...
, as well as the
North Baikal Highlands
The North Baikal Highlands ( rus, Северо-Байкальское нагорье; bua, Хойто-Байгалай хадалиг газар) and
Baikal Mountains
The Baikal Mountains or Baikal Range (russian: Байкальский хребет, ''Bajkaljskij hrebet''; bua, Байгалай дабаан, ''Baigalai dabaan'') are a mountain range that rises steeply over the northwestern shore of Lake Bai ...
. To the north of the plateau lie the
North Siberian Lowland
The North Siberian Lowland (russian: Северо-Сибирская низменность; sah, Хотугу Сибиир намтала), also known as Taymyr Lowland (Таймырская низменность), is a plain with a relatively ...
and to the east the plateau gives way to the
Central Yakutian Lowland
The Central Yakutian LowlandJohn Kimble (ed.), ''Cryosols: Permafrost-Affected Soils'' or Central Yakutian Lowlands (russian: Центральноякутская равнина; sah, Саха сирин ортоку намтала), also known as ...
and the
Lena Plateau
The Lena Plateau, also known as Prilensky Plateau ( rus, Приленское плато, ''Prilenskoye Plato''; sah, Өлүөнэтээҕи хаптал хайалаах сир), is one of the great plateaus of Siberia. Administratively it is m ...
.
[Среднесибирское плоскогорье (Central Siberian Plateau)](_blank)
/ Great Russian Encyclopedia; in 35 vol.] / Ch. ed. Yu.S. Osipov . - M .: Great Russian Encyclopedia
The ''Great Russian Encyclopedia'' (GRE; russian: Большая российская энциклопедия, БРЭ, transliterated as ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya entsiklopediya'' or academically as ''Bolšaja rossijskaja enciklopedija'') is a u ...
, 2004—2017.
The surface of the Central Siberian Plateau is characterized by the alternation of wide plateaus and ridges, some of the latter sharply jagged. The Central Siberian Plateau covers one-third of Siberia.
Subplateaus and subranges
The system of the Central Siberian Plateau comprises a number of smaller plateaus and subranges, including, among others, the following:
*
Putorana Plateau
The Putorana Plateau () or the Putorana Mountains is a mountainous area in the Russian Federation.
It is a large massif or plateau crossed by mountain ranges. The nearest large settlement is Norilsk, where foreign travel is restricted. The cit ...
, the northwesternmost, highest point
Mount Kamen
Kamen (russian: Камень), at is the highest mountain in the Putorana Plateau, Russia. See also
*List of mountains in Russia References
External linksThe highest peaks in RussiaKamen
Kamen () is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, i ...
(highest of the plateau system)
*
Anabar Plateau
The Anabar Plateau ( rus, Анабарское плато) 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 Anab ...
at the northern end, highest point
*
Vilyuy Plateau
The Vilyuy Plateau ( rus, Вилюйское плато) is a mountain plateau in Krasnoyarsk Krai and the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Siberia, Russia. It is a part of the Central Siberian Plateau and it is made up mainly of the upper course section ...
, highest point
*
Syverma Plateau
The Syverma Plateau ( rus, плато Сыверма) 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 ...
, highest point
Nakson
Nakson (russian: link=no, гора Наксон) is a mountain in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. At is the highest mountain in the Syverma Plateau, part of the Central Siberian Plateau. ,
*
Tunguska Plateau
The Tunguska Plateau ( rus, Тунгусское плато) 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, the village of Noginsk was ...
, highest point
*
Lena Plateau
The Lena Plateau, also known as Prilensky Plateau ( rus, Приленское плато, ''Prilenskoye Plato''; sah, Өлүөнэтээҕи хаптал хайалаах сир), is one of the great plateaus of Siberia. Administratively it is m ...
, highest point
*
Lena-Angara Plateau
The Lena-Angara Plateau ( rus, Лено-Ангарское плато), is a plateau in Siberia. Administratively it is in the Irkutsk Oblast, Russian Federation. The plateau is named after the Lena and Angara rivers, of which it forms the water ...
, highest point
Namai
Namai (russian: Намай) is a mountain in the Lena-Angara Plateau, Irkutsk Oblast, Russian Federation.
Geography
This high summit is the highest point of the Lena-Angara Plateau, part of the Central Siberian Plateau mountain system. It ri ...
,
*
Yenisei Range
The Yenisey Range (russian: Енисейский кряж) is a range of mountains in Siberia. Administratively the range is part of the Krasnoyarsk Krai of the Russian Federation. The nearest town is Severo-Yeniseysk.
The mountains have granite ...
, highest point
*
Angara Range
The Angara Range (russian: Ангарский кряж) is a mountain range in Krasnoyarsk Krai and Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, part of the Central Siberian Plateau. Google Earth
There are large iron ore deposits in the area of the Angara Range.
G ...
, highest point
Climate
The climate is
continental
Continental may refer to:
Places
* Continent, the major landmasses of Earth
* Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US
* Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US
Arts and entertainment
* ''Continental'' (al ...
with short warm summers and long and severely cold winters. Most of the territory is covered with
conifer
Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...
forests (
larch
Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains furt ...
is especially abundant). The plateau's major river is the
Lower Tunguska
The Nizhnyaya Tunguska ( rus, Ни́жняя Тунгу́ска, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪjə tʊnˈɡuskə, meaning "Lower Tunguska") is a river in Siberia, Russia, that flows through the Irkutsk Oblast and the Krasnoyarsk Krai. The river is a right tribut ...
. Known geologically as the
Siberian Traps
The Siberian Traps (russian: Сибирские траппы, Sibirskiye trappy) is 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 th ...
,
mineral resources
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. O ...
here are very rich and include
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 elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
,
iron ore
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...
,
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
,
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Platinu ...
,
diamond
Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...
s and
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
.
See also
*
Economy of Russia — Natural resources
*
South Siberian Mountains
The South Siberian Mountains ( rus, Южно-Сибирские горы) are one of the largest mountain systems of the Russian Federation. The total area of the system of mountain ranges is more than 1.5 million km². The South Siberian Mountain ...
*
Tunguska event
The Tunguska event (occasionally also called the Tunguska incident) was an approximately 12-megaton explosion that occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Yeniseysk Governorate (now Krasnoyarsk Krai), Russia, on the morning of June 30, ...
*
Udachnaya pipe
The Udachnaya pipe (russian: тру́бка Уда́чная, literally ''lucky pipe'') is a diamond deposit in the Daldyn- Alakit kimberlite field in Sakha Republic, Russia. It is an open-pit mine, and is located just outside the Arctic c ...
References
External links
*
The Demise of the Siberian Plume№1 Travel Guide
{{siberia-geo-stub