Central Siberian Plateau

The Central Siberian Plateau is a vast mountainous area in Siberia, one of the Great Russian Regions.

Geography

The plateau occupies a great part of central Siberia between the Yenisei and Lena rivers. It is located in the Siberian Platform and extends over an area of, between the Yenisei in the west and the Central Yakutian Lowland in the east. To the south it is bound by the Altai Mountains, Salair Ridge, Kuznetsk Alatau, the Eastern and Western Sayan Mountains and other mountains of Tuva, as well as the North Baikal Highlands and Baikal Mountains. To the north of the plateau lie the North Siberian Lowland and to the east the plateau gives way to the Central Yakutian Lowland and the Lena Plateau.
The surface of the Central Siberian Plateau is characterized by the alternation of wide plateaus and ridges, some of the latter sharply jagged. The Central Siberian Plateau covers one-third of Siberia.

The system of the Central Siberian Plateau comprises a number of smaller plateaus and subranges, including, among others, the following:

The climate is continental with short warm summers and long and severely cold winters. Most of the territory is covered with conifer forests. 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, diamonds and natural gas.