Location: Krasnoyarsk Krai Map
Area: 1 773 300 ha
Putorana Plateau (Плато Путорана) covers an enormous area of 1 773 300 ha in Krasnoyarsk Krai in Russia. The highest peak on the Putorana Plateau is Mount Kamen ("rock" in Russia) that reaches a height of 1700 meters (5,600 ft). Putorana Plateau is a basalt plateau on the North- West edge of the Central Siberia. It is named after a Putorana Lake in its center. Local Evenki tribe gave the lake its name and can be translated as "smoky" or "cloudy" since it is commonly covered by a fog. Although another local tribe of Yukagirs claim that name as their own and believe it comes from a name that can be translated as the "Mountain without tops". Whatever the entomology of the name might be one is certain, all indigenous inhabitants of these lands considered Putorana Plateau as sacred ground inhabited by a God of Fire. Beautiful legend was probably formed during early human explorers who remembered the time when Putorana Plateau saw active volcanic activity or showed signs of past eruptions on the surface. Ancient shamans came here to pray, meditate, perform elaborate religious ceremonies and leave offerings to the gods. Majority of people were not allowed here.
Most versions of the origin are associated with the Evenki language: petoromi (smoking) or kutorama (swampy). There is a version about the Yukaghir origin of the name.
The plateau was formed after the eruption of a supervolcano 252
million years ago, which caused the great Permian extinction. The frozen
lava formed basalt rocks, which are often referred to as Siberian traps.
It is the second largest trap plateau in the world after the Deccan
Plateau in India.
The plateau has a height of 1-1.5 km and is
located at the base of Taimyr, beyond the Arctic Circle, in the
north-west of the Central Siberian Plateau, representing the watershed
of the lower reaches of the Yenisei and Khatanga.
The climate is subarctic, sharply continental. Winter is cold (average temperature is −30…−36 °C). The winter period lasts 8-10 months and begins in September. Positive average monthly temperature is observed only in summer at the bottom of the valleys.
The Putorana is indented by a number of large gorges and valleys, the
bottom of which is often flooded with lakes: Khantai, Keta, Lama,
Dyupkun, Vivi, Pyasino, Dog, Ayan, Glubokoe.
On the territory of
the Putorana plateau are the upper reaches of the rivers Kureika
(Yenisei basin), Pyasina, Kheta, Kotui, Irkinda, as well as the right
tributaries of the Lower Tunguska (Yenisei basin). Rivers, making their
way through the multi-layered rocks, form deep canyons, rapids and
waterfalls. By the number of waterfalls, it ranks first in Russia.
Here is also the highest waterfall in Eurasia - Talnikovy, about 600
meters high.
On the Putorana plateau is located the Geographical
center of Russia - Lake Vivi.
The official website of the Federal
State Budgetary Institution "GPZ" Putoransky names the main natural
attractions of the Putoransky Reserve: "unique landscapes of table
mountains (plateau) with a height of 1000-1500 m above sea level,
canyon-like basins of giant tectonic lakes, many waterfalls, including
the highest in Russia (~600 m)".
The territory of the plateau is composed of basalts, often
iron-bearing ores (magnetites, hematite), silicates (prenites,
zeolites), apatites, perovskites (CaTiO3), phacolites, as well as large
copper-nickel deposits, with one of the richest percentages of mined
metals in the world.
Of the natural resources on the plateau are
water reserves and deposits of coal.
The conditional southern boundary of the Putorana Plateau is the Arctic Circle, so the area is located in the zone of a harsh, sharply continental climate, however, in individual lake valleys (for example, Lake Lama) there is a much milder microclimate, protected from northern winds. The polar day in summer is gradually replaced by a polar night in winter. Spring, summer and autumn fit into three months: June, July, August, the rest of the time - winter with temperatures down to -40 ° C. In the warmest month (July), the air temperature reaches +16 °C. Precipitation is 500-800 mm, mainly in summer; in winter, the snow cover is small.
The territory of the plateau is located in the zone of the subarctic belt, on the border of taiga and tundra. Here there is a rapid change and alternation of the most diverse landscapes: harsh mountain tundras are located next to larch woodlands, and thickets of shrubs - with spruce forests. On the tops of the mountains there is a zone of arctic rocky deserts with small areas of glaciers. The vegetation is represented by larch-spruce forests in the valley part of the plateau (up to a height of 300–350 m in the northwest and up to 500 m in the south), light forest and shrub tundra on the upper parts of the slopes and the surface of the plateau (starting from a height of 500–700 m). The most elevated, watershed parts of the plateau are predominantly occupied by stony and lichen tundra.
There are a lot of fish in the clean river water, including
whitefish, broad whitefish, taimen, Siberian grayling, arctic char,
whitefish, and omul. Of the amphibians, the Siberian salamander is
found.
There are rare and endangered species of birds -
white-billed loon, black crane, red-throated goose, gyrfalcon,
white-tailed eagle.
The migration route of the Taimyr population
of wild reindeer, the largest in Eurasia, runs through the territory of
the plateau. Here is the northern limit of the range of the lynx, sable,
stone capercaillie, flying squirrel. Elk, brown bear, wolverine, wolf,
northern pika are typical representatives of these places. The plateau
also hosts a poorly understood population of the bighorn sheep, which,
isolated from other habitats of this species, developed in isolation for
about 10,000 years.
The main part of the plateau is occupied by
the Putoransky Reserve, created in 1988 to preserve untouched natural
complexes. In 2009, the territory of the Putoransky Reserve was expanded
to 4 million hectares at the expense of the flat area of the Taimyr
Peninsula - the Purinsky Reserve.
Evenks and Dolgans are considered the indigenous
population of Putorana. The traces of their stay are statues from
the larch trunk, however, there are no settlements of these peoples
in this region.
The Putorana Plateau was first explored and
scientifically described by the Russian researcher A.F. Middendorf
(1815-1894) in 1844. In memory of him, in 1902 it was proposed to
name the mountains the Middendorf Range.
The name "Putorana"
was first put on the map by N. N. Urvantsev, having heard it from
the guide Elbey in the expedition of 1921.
In 1938, the first
prisoners were brought to Lake Lama for logging, but the director of
the plant, Avraamy Zavenyagin, quickly saw the recreational
potential in the lake and ordered to organize a recreation area on
Lama for the workers of the Norilsk Combine. Already in the summer
of 1939, a tent pioneer camp was set up parallel to the rest house
under construction. In 1944, the first wooden sanatorium for 40
families appeared here, designed by architect Fyodor Usov.
"Unreliable" Baltic officers were involved in the construction of
the sanatorium, who arrived in August 1941 on the Sokol and Norilec
boats. 14 out of 41 died from diseases and frosts in the winter of
1941-1942 and were buried here. In 1990, a monument appeared at the
place of their burial. In 1952, the sanatorium was closed, but in
1958 it was converted into a camp site.
On September 29,
1975, an underground nuclear explosion (800 meters deep) was carried
out on the Putorana Plateau to create underground gas storage tanks.
After 2 years, a new nuclear explosion was made a kilometer from the
first. A technogenic dump was subsequently formed at the site of the
drilling camp, however, according to the assurances of the
authorities, the radiation background was not exceeded.
In
2017, members of the expedition "To the East" crossed the Putorana
Plateau on Sherp all-terrain vehicles.
Tourism
The
Putorana Plateau has a tourist attraction. The routes start from the
nearest settlement of Norilsk (airport), from where, through the
Valek pier (12 km from Norilsk), travelers get by motor boats or
helicopters to Lake Lama (165 km from Norilsk), where they can
contemplate numerous waterfalls, a museum of Nganasan culture and
Norillag cemetery.
In the eastern part of Lake Lama, near
Shaitan Mountain, there is a three-story recreation center Bunisyak.