Putorana Plateau

The Putorana Plateau is a vast basaltic upland in north-central Siberia, Russia, cut by deep canyons and dotted with lakes and waterfalls. Its remote terrain supports largely undisturbed ecosystems.

Siberian Traps: A vast region of flood basalts in Siberia, formed by immense volcanic eruptions near the end of the Permian Period. The plateau’s basalt bedrock belongs to this enormous volcanic province.
Flood basalt: A thick, extensive sequence of basalt flows produced by repeated eruptions across large areas. Successive flows created the plateau’s layered volcanic foundation.
Putorana Nature Reserve: A Russian protected area established in 1988 to conserve ecosystems in the Putorana region. The reserve protects a large portion of the plateau’s relatively undisturbed terrain.
Lake Khantayskoye: A large lake in the Putorana region of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. Its long, irregular shoreline illustrates the region’s glacially sculpted lake basins.
Basalt: A fine-grained volcanic rock formed when low-viscosity lava cools at or near Earth’s surface. Basaltic lava built the plateau’s resistant layers.
Columnar jointing: A pattern of polygonal rock columns formed as thick lava cools and contracts. Cooling fractures help expose the plateau’s steep basalt faces.
UNESCO World Heritage Site: A place recognized under the World Heritage Convention for outstanding cultural or natural value. Putorana received this designation in 2010 for its striking natural landscape and ecological importance.
Kureika River: A river in Krasnoyarsk Krai that flows north from the Putorana region into the Yenisei. Its course descends from the plateau through rugged, waterfall-rich terrain.
Cenozoic: The geological era beginning about 66 million years ago and continuing today. Later uplift and erosion shaped the plateau after its ancient volcanic foundations formed.
Glacial landform: A landscape feature created by the movement, erosion, or deposition of glacier ice. Glaciers carved many of the plateau’s deep valleys and basins.

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