A landscape born from mass extinction
The Putorana Plateau is a 250,000-square-kilometer wilderness in northern Siberia, slightly larger than the United Kingdom. Its origins lie in one of the largest volcanic events in Earth's history. Around 252 million years ago, a massive mantle plume triggered the Siberian Traps flood basalt event, which lasted for roughly two million years. This eruption spewed an estimated 4 million cubic kilometers of basaltic lava, covering a vast area of Siberia. The event coincided with the Permian–Triassic extinction, the most severe extinction event known, wiping out a majority of marine and terrestrial species.
The lava erupted through fissures in the Earth's crust, spreading in thick, successive layers. This process created the plateau's signature feature: vast, flat-topped mountains, or mesas, with step-like sides. The term for this type of formation, "traps," is derived from the Swedish word "trappa," meaning stairs. The highest point on the plateau is Mount Kamen, which reaches an elevation of 1,678 meters. Over millions of years, tectonic uplift raised the basalt dome, and subsequent ice ages carved deep, dramatic canyons and valleys into the rock.
The land of 25,000 lakes
The same geological forces that built the plateau also created its immense hydrological systems. As glaciers retreated and rivers sliced through the layered basalt, they formed countless waterfalls and more than 25,000 lakes. These lakes, many long and fjord-like, are up to 420 meters deep and hold Russia's second-largest reservoir of fresh water after Lake Baikal.
The plateau has the highest concentration of waterfalls in Russia. Many are unnamed and undocumented. The Talnikovy Waterfall is often considered one of the highest in Asia, with disputed measurements ranging from 482 to 700 meters. This powerful cascade is also seasonal, flowing for only one or two months a year as snow and ice melt, and sometimes not appearing at all. Located about 100 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle, The plateau's remote areas include taiga, forest tundra, and arctic desert. It is an important migration route for what is considered the world's largest herd of wild reindeer, with up to 500,000 animals crossing the area. The plateau also supports the Putorana snow sheep (Ovis nivicola borealis), a subspecies isolated by hundreds of kilometers from any other snow sheep populations.