Vitim Plateau
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Vitim Plateau | |
|---|---|
| Вити́мское плоского́рье / Витимэй хадалиг газар | |
 The Vitim in its upper course flowing across the plateau | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,846 m (6,056 ft) |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 450 km (280 mi) |
| Width | 250 km (160 mi) |
| Area | 10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi) |
| Geography | |
  Vitim Plateau Location in Buryatia, Russia | |
| Country | Russia |
| Federal subject | Buryatia |
| Region | Transbaikalia |
| Range coordinates | 54°00′N 113°30′E / 54.000°N 113.500°E |
| Parent range | South Siberian System |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | From Bagdarin Airport |
Vitim Plateau is a plateau in Buryatia and Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia. The plateau is sparsely populated; the main settlements are Romanovka and Bagdarin. An area of the plateau is an ancient volcanic field with a number of cinder cones and volcanoes, the last of which was active about 810,000 years before present.
The P436 regional road connecting Ulan-Ude and Chita passes through Romanovka across the plateau.
The Vitim Plateau lies along the headwaters of the Vitim River, a tributary of the Lena[1] between the Southern Muya Range to the north, the Ikat Range to the west, the Yablonoi Mountains to the south,[2] and in the east with the lower reaches of the Kalakan River to the right bank of the lower reaches of the Karenga River (both Vitim tributaries) and the latter's right tributary, the Bugarikta.[3]
The Vitim River begins at the confluence of the China and Vitimkan rivers on the plateau and makes a wide bend around the volcanic zone before flowing northwards. Rivers Tsipa, Tsipikan and Amalat cut across the plateau and the Baunt Depression is located in the northwestern corner.[2]
The plateau has a surface area of 10,000 square kilometres (3,900 sq mi).[4] In it smooth, low mountain ranges such as the Bolshoy Khapton, with average heights between 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) and 1,600 metres (5,200 ft), alternate with intermontane basins. The Vitim Plateau is covered by larch taiga and forest steppe, as well as thickets of shrubby birches, meadows, and swampy areas in the river basins.[5] The volcanic field in its southwestern part has an area of 4,500 square kilometres (1,700 sq mi).[6][7] There are a number of lakes, such as Baunt, Busani, Kapylyushi, Telemba, Arakhley, Bolshoy and Maly Yeravna.[2] The area is marked by permafrost.
