Anabar Plateau

The Anabar Plateau (Анабарское плато) is a mountain plateau in Krasnoyarsk Krai and the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Siberia, Russia.

The plateau is in a latitude dominated by permafrost. The permafrost thickness under the Anabar Plateau reaches 1400 m.

Geography
The Anabar Plateau is located north of the Arctic Circle in northeastern Krasnoyarsk Krai and northwestern Sakha Republic, SSE of the Taymyr Depression, the central part of the North Siberian Lowland. It is located north of the Vilyuy Plateau and is the northernmost feature of the Central Siberian Plateau, to which it is connected in the southeast. To the southwest it runs into the higher Putorana Mountains, the border between both not being well-defined. The average height of the plateau surface is around 500 m. There are slightly higher tableland type elevations running across the plateau area, mostly in a roughly east to west direction. The highest point is a 905 m high unnamed summit.

The Big Kuonamka, which forms the upper course of the Anabar River, has its source in the plateau and flows in a northeastern direction. Rivers cut deep valleys or canyons, often flanked by scenic cliffs formed by very ancient eroded sediments. The Popigay River has its source in the northeastern sector of the plateau. River Kotuy cuts from the south across the western side and is joined by its tributary Kotuykan from the highest part of the Anabar Plateau. Also to the southeast of the plateau is the source of the Olenyok, which flows east and then northeastwards. Rivers Kengeede and Kyuyonelekeen of the Olenyok basin have their sources at the southern end. To the northwest flows the Khatanga River and to the northeast the Malaya Kuonamka of the Anabar basin. To the east lies the wider basin of the Lena. The Popigai impact structure is located to the NNE of the plateau.

Geology
The Anabar Plateau of the Central Siberian Plateau is one of the oldest structures on Earth, with rocks that are more than 3 billion years old. In its central region it is composed of Archean crystalline schists and gneisses. Along the periphery of the plateau Proterozoic and Lower Paleozoic limestones predominate.

Anabar Shield
The Anabar Plateau coincides geographically with the Anabar Shield, a geological region that is an exposed basement of the Siberian Craton. Together with the Aldan Shield further to the southeast, the Anabar Shield is one of the main features of the craton.

Flora and climate
There are sparse forests of larch in the lower areas up to a height of 450 m and mountain tundra with mosses and lichens in the higher altitudes.

The climate prevailing in the Anabar Plateau is subarctic continental, characterized by a very low average rainfall of less than 250 mm per year. Precipitation falls in the summer, mostly in the form of rain. The average air temperature in January is a chilly -34 C with an absolute minimum of -60 C. The temperature may reach a maximum of 38 C in July. The average annual temperature is -14 C.