Putoransky State Nature Reserve( ''Путоранский заповедник'' ) is a Russian '

zapovednik Zapovednik (russian: заповедник, plural , from the Russian , 'sacred, prohibited from disturbance, committed o protect committed o heritage; ) is an established term on the territory of the former Soviet Union for a protected area which ...

' (strict nature reserve) in the northern part of

Central Siberia 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 Gre ...

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, located about 100 km north of the Arctic Circle in

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 Si ...

, includes the Putorana Plateau. It was established in 1987, and it owned since August 2010 in the list of World Heritage prepared by the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. It covers an area of 1,887,252 hectares of which 1,773,300 are monitored. Its headquarters are in

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

Location and geography

Comprising a vast area of 1,887,251 ha, the park is located in the centre of the Putorana Plateau in the northern part of

. The part of the plateau listed on the

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

contains complete subarctic and arctic ecosystems in an isolated mountain range. The combination of remoteness, naturalness and strict protection ensures that ecological and biological processes continue with minimal human interference. It is a complex of high flat-topped mountain massifs divided by deep and wide canyons. It was created 250 million years ago by a process known as plume volcanism, in which a huge body of magma rose to the surface from 1,800 miles (2,897 kilometers) inside the Earth. Next, the glaciers expanded the canyons and formed the present-day river gorges and deep narrow lakes (Lama, Keta, Glubokoye, Khantayskoye, Ayan, etc.) creating the unique appearance of the plateau. These exotic fjord-like lakes reaching 100–150 km in length and up to deep are considered to be largest in Siberia after

Baikal Lake Baikal (, russian: Oзеро Байкал, Ozero Baykal ); mn, Байгал нуур, Baigal nuur) is a rift lake in Russia. It is situated in southern Siberia, between the federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Rep ...

and Teletskoye. Another feature of the plateau are numerous waterfalls, including the 108 m high waterfall in Kanda river gorge considered to be Russia's highest. The area is also one of the richest in terms of plant diversity in the Arctic.

Ecoregion and climate

Putorana is in the Taimyr-Central Siberian tundra ecoregion, which covers 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. Administrat ...

in the

Russian Far North The Extreme North or Far North (russian: Крайний Север, Дальний Север) is a large part of Russia located mainly north of the Arctic Circle and boasting enormous mineral and natural resources. Its total area is about , ...

. The climate is ''

Tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mou ...

'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

Tundra climate (ET)). This indicates a local climate in which at least one month has an average temperature high enough to melt snow (0 °C (32 °F)), but no month with an average temperature in excess of 10 °C (50 °F).

Flora

The area consists of pristine taiga, forest tundra, tundra and arctic desert systems, as well as untouched cold-water lake and river systems. Most of the Putorana Plateau is covered by the Siberian larch taiga forests. The northern part by sparse forests and mountain tundra. There are around 400 plant species, including several rare and endemic forms.

Fauna

There are 34 mammal species including one of the rarest known hoofed animals - the Putorana bighorn sheep (Ovis nivicola borealis). About 140 bird species have been noted in the reserve.

Reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 sub ...

migration routes cross the reserve.

Reserve missions

* Nature conservation and protection composed of lakes, mountain ranges and taïga * Protection and study of its flora * Protection and study of its fauna, including certain animals, such as the

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 ...

( ''Ovis nivicola borealis'' ), are listed in the Russian Red Book of endangered species. Conservation and study of the wild

reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 sub ...

population , the number of which is the largest in the world here.

World Heritage

The territory of the nature reserve was registered in August 2010 in the list of World Heritage of

, for this isolated area of high plateau and mountains is ideal for studying the

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

arctic and subarctic, such as

taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruc ...

, the semi-wooded

tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mou ...

, or the arctic desert. The lakes and rivers in the area offer an example of a natural system untouched by humans and are another reason for the inscription of the territory as World Heritage, as well as the migrations of the wild reindeer that we observe here.

Gallery

File:Plato_Putorana_01.jpg File:Водопады Курейки.jpg File:Putoransky Reserve banner.jpg, File:Река Курейка.JPG, File:Волны озера Дюпкун.jpg, File:Водопады Путоран 3.jpg, File:Тишина озера Дюпкун.jpg, File:Весенний водопад.jpg,

References

External links

Official site of the reserve

Information page of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia about the reserve

Site of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation (МПР РФ)
{{Russian Zapovedniks Nature reserves in Russia 1987 establishments in Russia Protected areas established in 1987 Protected areas established in 1988 World Heritage Sites in Russia Geography of Krasnoyarsk Krai Zapovednik