Central Siberian Plateau

Lore & Background

Geologically, the Central Siberian Plateau and surrounding areas are a large igneous province called the Siberian Traps, formed by a massive eruption which occurred 250 million years ago. The formation of the traps coincided with the Permian–Triassic extinction event. The plateau and plains of North Asia comprise the West Siberian Lowlands; the Central Siberian Plateau (including the Putorana Plateau, the Tunguska Plateau, and the Anabar Plateau as its main sub-plateaus); the East Siberian Highlands; and the Central Yakutian Lowland.

Reader's Guide

Its geological formation, known as the Siberian Traps, is associated with a massive eruption 250 million years ago that coincided with the Permian–Triassic extinction event. The plateau system includes notable subranges such as the Putorana Plateau. Its legacy lies in its role as a vast, resource-rich geographical feature that shapes the landscape of central Siberia.

Did You Know?

• The Central Siberian Plateau is one of three major geographical divisions of North Asia, alongside the West Siberian Plain and the East Siberian Highlands.
• The Siberian Traps, a large igneous province located on the Central Siberian Plateau and surrounding areas, formed from a massive eruption 250 million years ago that coincided with the Permian–Triassic extinction event.
• The plateau's main sub-plateaus are the Putorana, Tunguska, and Anabar Plateaus.
• Contrary to some claims, the Central Siberian Plateau and other mountain ranges in North Asia do impede Arctic air currents, preventing them from flowing unimpeded southward across the region.
• The Angara Shield is a geological term for the ancient craton underlying the Siberian Platform, not a geographical region or surface division of the plateau.

Geological Heritage and the Siberian Traps

The Central Siberian Plateau sits at the heart of one of Earth's most dramatic geological events. Approximately 250 million years ago, a colossal volcanic eruption gave rise to the Siberian Traps, a vast igneous province stretching across the central portion of North Asia. This cataclysmic episode coincided with the Permian–Triassic extinction event, one of the most devastating mass extinctions in the planet's recorded history. The plateau itself forms part of the broader Angara Shield, a stable geological structure that also encompasses the Taymyr Peninsula, the East and North Siberian Lowlands, and the Central Yakutian Lowland. Tectonically, the region rests primarily on the Eurasian Plate, though its eastern reaches extend onto the North American, Amurian, and Okhotsk Plates. The ongoing creation of new sea floor in the Siberian basin has caused the entire Eurasian Plate to pivot, a slow process that continues to shape the deep geological character of the land.

Topographic Architecture and Climate Exposure

The Central Siberian Plateau is not a single uniform surface but a mosaic of six distinct sub-plateaus: the Anabar, Lena, Lena-Angara, Putorana, Tunguska, and Vilyuy Plateaus. Together with the West Siberian Plain to the west and the Verhoyansk-Chukotka collision zone to the east, these three major landforms divide North Asia into its principal topographic divisions. The plateau's position within the Angara Shield gives it a fundamentally different character from the low-lying terrain surrounding it. One of the most consequential features of this broad expanse is the absence of significant east-west mountain chains. Without such barriers, cold Arctic air currents sweep unimpeded southward across the Siberian plains and into Turkestan, making the climate of the plateau and its neighbors far more severe than at comparable latitudes elsewhere. The geomorphology of the region remains only imperfectly understood, even though its deposits and mountain ranges are reasonably well documented.

Deep Human History and Indigenous Cultures

Human presence on and around the Central Siberian Plateau stretches back to the Late Pleistocene, with hominins arriving roughly 100,000 years ago and anatomically modern humans confirmed by 45,000 years ago, the earliest showing West Eurasian genetic origins. The Neolithic period in the region is marked by distinctive stone-working techniques and the introduction of pottery traditions of eastern origin. By the third millennium BCE, the Bronze Age had taken hold, bringing Indo-Iranian cultural influences visible in the Andronovo culture. The first millennium BCE saw the rise of polities such as the Scythians and Xiongnu, who frequently clashed with Persian and Chinese neighbors to the south. Over the centuries, the plateau and surrounding lands were home to an extraordinary diversity of peoples spanning numerous language families: Ainu, Chukotko-Kamchatkan, Mongolic, Nivkh, Tungusic, Turkic, Uralic, Yeniseian, Yukaghir, and Eskaleut groups. The Khanate of Sibir stood as one of the last independent Turkic states before Russian conquest in the sixteenth century permanently altered the demographic landscape.

Soviet Industrialization and Modern Strategic Relevance

During the Soviet era, the Central Siberian Plateau and the broader North Asian region became integral to industrial and military strategy. After World War II, major industrial centers were established in Norilsk, Novosibirsk, and Irkutsk, often built with labor drawn from the Gulag system. The Trans-Siberian Railway, stretching from Moscow to Vladivostok, became the critical artery for moving timber, coal, and metals from the resource-rich east to the western parts of the USSR. The 1930s saw military fortification along the region's borders amid rising tensions with Japan, culminating in the 1939 Battles of Khalkhin Gol, where General Zhukov secured a decisive Soviet victory. Following the Soviet collapse in 1991, many single-industry towns suffered sharp economic decline and depopulation. Yet the 2000s and 2010s brought renewed strategic attention as vast reserves of natural gas, oil, and minerals attracted investment. Russia's Power of Siberia gas pipeline to China exemplified a deliberate pivot toward Asian markets, while programs like the Far Eastern Hectare initiative continue to grapple with the region's geographic and demographic challenges.

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