Vilyuy Plateau

The Vilyuy Plateau (Russian: Вилюйское плато) is a mountain plateau in Krasnoyarsk Krai and the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Siberia, Russia. It is a part of the Central Siberian Plateau and it is made up mainly of the upper course section of the Vilyuy River.

Vilyuy Plateau
Вилюйское плато
View of the Vilyuy Reservoir
Highest point
PeakUnnamed
Elevation962 m (3,156 ft)
Dimensions
Length400 km (250 mi)
Width200 km (120 mi)
Geography
Location in Yakutia, Russia
CountryRussia
Federal subjectKrasnoyarsk Krai and Sakha Republic
Range coordinates66°30′N 109°45′E
Parent rangeCentral Siberian Plateau
Borders onIrkutsk Oblast
Geology
Age of rockLower Paleozoic and Precambrian
Type of rockTrap rock, dolomite and Limestone

Permafrost thickness up to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft), the largest in the world, was discovered under the Vilyuy Plateau.[1][2]

Geography

The Vilyuy Plateau is located both north and south of the Arctic Circle in northeastern Krasnoyarsk Krai and western Sakha Republic. To the southwest it borders Irkutsk Oblast.[3] To the north rises the Anabar Plateau, to the west the Syverma Plateau and to the northwest the Putorana Mountains. To the east the plateau descends gradually towards the broad Lena River valley and to the southeast it runs into the Central Yakutian Lowland, which leads to the Lena Plateau on the southern side. The average height of the Vilyuy Plateau surface is around 700 meters (2,300 ft) and the highest point is a 962 metres (3,156 ft) high unnamed summit.[4]

The major rivers having their source in the plateau are the Vilyuy, Markha, Olenyok and Ygyatta.[3] There are also numerous lakes, including the man-made Vilyuy Reservoir.

Flora and climate

There is larch taiga on the mountain slopes, with thickets of prostrate alder and mountain tundra on the higher elevations. There are meadows in the river valleys.[4]

The climate prevailing in the Vilyuy Plateau is subarctic continental. The winters are some of the most severe in the Northern Hemisphere.[4]

References
  1. Vilyui plateau // Dictionary of modern geographical names / Rus. geo about . Mosk. center; Under the total. ed. Acad. V.M. Kotlyakova . Institute of Geography RAS . - Yekaterinburg: U-Factoria, 2006
  2. A review of the nature and geophysical studies of the thick permafrost in Siberia
  3. Google Earth
  4. Вилюйское плато Great Soviet Encyclopedia in 30 vols. / Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov . - 3rd ed. - M, 1969-1978.
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