| Central Siberian Plateau | |
| Other Name: | Среднесиби́рское плоского́рье |
| Type: | Plateau |
| Coordinates: | 64°N 103°W |
| Area: | 3500000km2 |
| Part Of: | Siberia |
| Elevation: | 1678m (5,505feet) (highest)[1] |
| Map: | Russia |
| Relief: | 1 |
| Location: | Krasnoyarsk Krai Sakha Republic Irkutsk Oblast |
The Central Siberian Plateau (Russian: Среднесибирское плоскогорье|Srednesibirskoye ploskogorye; Yakut: Орто Сибиир хаптал хайалаах сирэ) is a vast mountainous area in Siberia, one of the Great Russian Regions.
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 3500000km2, 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.[2]
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.[3]
The system of the Central Siberian Plateau comprises a number of smaller plateaus and subranges, including, among others, the following:[2]
The climate is continental with short warm summers and long and severely cold winters. Most of the territory is covered with conifer forests (larch is especially abundant). 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.