Central Siberian Plateau
Encyclopedia
The Central Siberian Plateau is made up of sharply demarcated surfaces of varying altitudes occupying most of Siberia
between the Yenisei
and Lena
rivers. It extends over an area of 3.5 million km². The highest point is the Putoran Mountains
rising to 1701 m. To the north of the plateau are the Putoran Mountains
while to the south are the Eastern Sayan
and the Baikal Mountains
. To the east the plateau gives way to the low-lying land of the Yakuts
. The Central Siberian Plateau covers one-third of Siberia.
The climate is continental
with short warm summers and long and very cold winters. Most of the territory is covered with conifer forests (larch
is especially abundant). The plateau's major river is the Lower Tunguska
. Known geologically as the Siberian Traps
, mineral resources here are very rich and include coal
, iron ore, gold
, platinum, diamond
s and natural gas
. Russia is second only to South Africa in the production of platinum, producing 30% of all the world's supply.
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
between the Yenisei
Yenisei River
Yenisei , also written as Yenisey, is the largest river system flowing to the Arctic Ocean. It is the central of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean...
and Lena
Lena River
The Lena is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean . It is the 11th longest river in the world and has the 9th largest watershed...
rivers. It extends over an area of 3.5 million km². The highest point is the Putoran Mountains
Putoran Mountains
The Putorana Plateau or the Putorana Mountains is a high-lying basalt plateau, a mountainous area at the northwestern edge of the Central Siberian Plateau, to the south from Taymyr Peninsula. The highest mountain in the range is Mount Kamen which stands above sea level.The plateau is composed of...
rising to 1701 m. To the north of the plateau are the Putoran Mountains
Putoran Mountains
The Putorana Plateau or the Putorana Mountains is a high-lying basalt plateau, a mountainous area at the northwestern edge of the Central Siberian Plateau, to the south from Taymyr Peninsula. The highest mountain in the range is Mount Kamen which stands above sea level.The plateau is composed of...
while to the south are the Eastern Sayan
Sayan Mountains
The Sayan Mountains are a mountain range between northwestern Mongolia and southern Siberia, Russia.The Eastern Sayan extends from the Yenisei River at 92° E to the southwest end of Lake Baikal at 106° E...
and the Baikal Mountains
Baikal Mountains
thumb|right|300px|The mountains and lake in the summer, as seen from [[Bolshiye Koty]] on the southwest shoreThe Baikal Mountains or Baikal Range rise steeply over the northwestern shore of Lake Baikal in southern Siberia, Russia...
. To the east the plateau gives way to the low-lying land of the Yakuts
Yakuts
Yakuts , are a Turkic people associated with the Sakha Republic.The Yakut or Sakha language belongs to the Northern branch of the Turkic family of languages....
. The Central Siberian Plateau covers one-third of Siberia.
The climate is continental
Continental climate
Continental climate is a climate characterized by important annual variation in temperature due to the lack of significant bodies of water nearby...
with short warm summers and long and very cold winters. Most of the territory is covered with conifer forests (larch
Larch
Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. Growing from 15 to 50m tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains further south...
is especially abundant). The plateau's major river is the Lower Tunguska
Lower Tunguska
Nizhnyaya Tunguska — is a river in Siberia, Russia, flows through the Irkutsk Oblast and the Krasnoyarsk Krai. The river is a right tributary of the Yenisei joining it at Turukhansk . Settlements on the river include Tura, Yukti and Simenga...
. Known geologically as the Siberian Traps
Siberian Traps
The Siberian Traps form a large region of volcanic rock, known as a large igneous province, in the Russian region of Siberia. The massive eruptive event which formed the traps, one of the largest known volcanic events of the last 500 million years of Earth's geological history, continued for...
, mineral resources here are very rich and include coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, iron ore, gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, platinum, diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
s and natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
. Russia is second only to South Africa in the production of platinum, producing 30% of all the world's supply.