Baikal, Volga, Elbrus, Ural, Altai, geysers of Kamchatka, Klyuchevskaya Sopka, Curonian Spit, Lena Pillars … These natural attractions do not need an introduction, they are annually visited by millions of people, including foreigners. But there is a beautiful place in our country that not even all Russians have heard of - this is the Putorana plateau. No wonder: it is located in such Tmutarakan that it could well become the prototype of the lost world of Arthur Conan Doyle.
Our response to the Americans
The Putorana Plateau, one of the wonders of Russia, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, is located in the north of Siberia. In the south, it borders the Arctic Circle, in the north - with the swampy tundra of the Taimyr Peninsula. The reserve covers a huge territory - more than 200,000 km2, which is comparable to the territory of an average European state such as Great Britain, Belarus or Romania. But, unlike the densely populated European powers, the Russian terra incognita is not crowded, at most 200 people live there. And who will settle in that land of their own free will, when there are absolutely unbearable living conditions, although nature is very rich. That is why the Putorana plateau remains one of the least explored corners of our country. No, sometimes a person gets there, but more often as a tourist. A visit to the plateau is an expensive pleasure,although worth it, the experience lasts for the rest of your life. They say that even the Grand Canyon in the United States cannot be compared with our reserve. The appearance of this mountainous country can amaze even the most fertile imagination. Figuratively speaking, the plateau is a huge domed table with a slightly sloping surface. When you approach the edge of the "table", you find yourself above the abyss. The plain is interrupted and abruptly leaves by steps into a deep abyss, and below the rivers snake snakes and the mirrors of the lakes sparkle in the sun. Unimaginable beauty!the plateau is a huge domed table with a slightly sloping surface. When you approach the edge of the "table", you find yourself above the abyss. The plain is interrupted and abruptly leaves by steps into a deep abyss, and below the rivers snake snakes and the mirrors of the lakes sparkle in the sun. Unimaginable beauty!the plateau is a huge domed table with a slightly sloping surface. When you approach the edge of the "table", you find yourself above the abyss. The plain is interrupted and abruptly leaves by steps into a deep abyss, and below the rivers snake snakes and the mirrors of the lakes sparkle in the sun. Unimaginable beauty!
Water wears away the stone
The Putorana Plateau holds the record for the number of reservoirs. No wonder it is called the land of ten thousand lakes and thousands of waterfalls. Lakes occupy about 10% of the plateau area. Nowhere in the world in a limited area is there such a number of long (from 50 to 150 km) and deep (up to 420 m) lakes as on the plateau, especially in its western part. There are only eight large lakes. The largest among them is Vivi, with an area of 229 km2. For comparison: Baikal has an area of 386 km2. Of course, Vivi will be smaller, but, you must admit, its size is respectable. The Khantayskoye lake, located on a plateau, is called the Chalice of Tears by the natives, and it is also one of the deepest lakes in Russia, its depth reaches half a kilometer. In the old days, the Bowl of Tears Lake was considered sacred. For centuries, Evenk and Nenets girls came here just toto see the destiny in the waters of the lake, to complain to the great goddess Eshnu about her hard lot. According to an ancient legend, in time immemorial, the Fiery God took the life of his only son, Eshnu, and took his immortal soul to his lair under the ground. The grief-stricken goddess cried for a very long time, and then turned into a huge black basalt rock. Ashnu's tears filled the once-dried-out hollow, making it a lake. Since then, it is believed that the goddess Eshnu is an extremely responsive creature, especially when it comes to women's suffering.and then turned into a huge black basalt rock. Ashnu's tears filled the once-dried-out hollow, making it a lake. Since then, it is believed that the goddess Eshnu is an extremely responsive creature, especially when it comes to women's suffering.and then turned into a huge black basalt rock. Ashnu's tears filled the once-dried-out hollow, making it a lake. Since then, it is believed that the goddess Eshnu is an extremely responsive creature, especially when it comes to women's suffering.
But fairy tales are fairy tales, but reality. A unique phenomenon of the Putorana plateau is living lakes and rivers. What does it mean? Reservoirs move - both vertically and horizontally and constantly appear in new places. For example, the Jokjo River. In one place it makes a beautiful s-shaped loop and, passing picturesque rocks, flows into the Kotuikan River. These rocks and talus form a natural barrier between two rivers. But sooner or later the rivers will wash away the rocks and destroy this obstacle in their path. In the meantime, this landscape is terribly reminiscent of the famous canyons of America.
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The fact is that in the plateau area there is a continuous process of raising mountains and deepening valleys. Rivers and lakes here, unlike other places, fill tectonic faults, which tend to deepen. Lama, Kutaramakan, Khantayskoye, Keta, Nakomya-ken lakes are long and narrow because they fill the cracks that split the plateau. For the same reason, they are very deep, which, by the way, makes them related to Lake Baikal.
Three scenarios
Putorana is truly an incredibly mobile place. For no apparent reason, the plateau rises to 1.5 cm per year, which is quite a lot. Scientists suggest that active geological processes are taking place deep underground. In this regard, there are three possible scenarios for the development of events, one more unpleasant than the other. The first is that sooner or later a young and rather active volcano will form in the place of the plateau. If it starts to erupt, it is half the trouble, given the sparsely populated nature reserve. The second option will be worse: in the next century, a whole series of powerful earthquakes will occur on the plateau, as a result of which a new mountain range will cut through the Central Siberian Plateau from north to south, up to the Eastern Sayan Mountains. But even in this case, the catastrophe will not threaten the person. It will be much worse if events develop according to the third scenario. Then, at the junction of the West Siberian tectonic plate and the Siberian platform in the area of the Yenisei River basin, a giant fault will arise. What's wrong with that? The Taimyr Peninsula will turn into an island, and the waters of the Laptev Sea will rush into a huge continental crevice, sweeping away everything in its path.
Can we somehow influence this process? Not! It remains only to wait for a surprise that nature will present. It is clear that one of the scenarios will not be triggered by her in the very near future, but everyone can be expected from her. By the way, the plateau was formed 10-12 million years ago as a result of a powerful earthquake that affected most of the Eurasian continent and led to the appearance of large islands in the Barents and Kara Seas. After the cataclysm, the mild climate was replaced by severe cold here, vegetation and fauna changed. In the epic of the northern peoples, many legends and traditions have been preserved associated with these events. Among the Evenki, Nenets and Nganasans, who have lived in the vicinity of the plateau from time immemorial, Putorana is considered the habitat of the Fiery God - the owner of hell, the tormentor of human souls. According to scientists,such beliefs are related to the fact that volcanic eruptions were frequent in these places 4000-5000 years ago. So, according to one of the Evenk legends, a fiery spirit escaping from the abyss soared over the Khatanga River, forcing its clean waters to boil, scorching villages with its hot breath, destroying people and cattle, burning taiga …
Alien trail
The Putorana Plateau throws up riddles all the time. On the plateau itself, for many decades, there has been only one permanent settlement - a meteorological station near Lake Agata, where about a dozen people work. Its employees monitor the weather day and night. However, meteorologists admit that sometimes rather strange phenomena occur here, which they do not enter into meteorological reports. So, according to the recollections of the oldest employees of the meteorological station, from December 25 to January 7 of each year, starting from the mid-seventies, almost every evening in the area of the frozen one hundred-meter waterfall Khabarba, rotating concentric circles rise from the ground to the sky, forming a giant luminous spiral in a few minutes, which rests against the starry sky.
This phenomenon lasts no more than 15 minutes, after which the spiral fades and dissolves in the dark.
This is not the only plateau phenomenon. On its surface, from time to time, mysteriously burnt out geometric shapes appear - circles, ovals, triangles, as if drawn by the skillful hand of an invisible draftsman.
People with a rich imagination tend to believe that this is all the work of nimble aliens. However, in their opinion, representatives of extraterrestrial civilizations were noted not only by circles and ovals. The Putorana Plateau is a real space landscapes, such that they are simply breathtaking. Rivers form such intricate zigzags that a version appeared that aliens burned river beds with the help of … lasers. And the surface of all the mountains on the plateau is as if cut off with a knife. Do you think these are the tricks of Mother Nature? No matter how it is! This is another alien trail: supposedly little green men have built a convenient platform for their aircraft to land. The only thing left is to wait until they decide to pay the earthlings a friendly visit.
© Vlad Strogov