i'm not like you

← explore · constellation

Putorana Plateau

69°N, 95°E — Central Siberia, north of the Arctic Circle — basalt trap 800 × 500 km, near the geographic center of Russia

What's documented

The Putorana Plateau is a basalt massif covering roughly 250,000 km² in Central Siberia. Its lavas — the Siberian Traps — are linked to the end-Permian extinction event (~252 Ma) and represent one of the largest known continental flood-basalt provinces. The plateau hosts about 25,000 lakes; Lake Vivi, near its center, is conventionally cited as the geographic center of the Russian Federation. UNESCO World Heritage Site, 2010. Helicopter-only access across most of its area.

Public-record imagery

Plateau surface — basalt traps and lake.
Plateau surface — basalt traps and lake.Wikipedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 · jxandreani · 2008
Satellite view (ESA) of the plateau's extent.
Satellite view (ESA) of the plateau's extent.Wikipedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 igo · European Space Agency · 2016
A waterfall on the plateau; the basalt is ~2.5 km thick in places.
A waterfall on the plateau; the basalt is ~2.5 km thick in places.Wikipedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Vitaly Repin · 2008
Snow on the plateau. Access is helicopter-only across most of its area.
Snow on the plateau. Access is helicopter-only across most of its area.Wikipedia Commons · Public domain · NASA · 2003