Image: Sentinel-2A captures Putorana Plateau, Siberia 28 October 2016

Zooming in on the lake we can see that it is mostly ice-covered, with small patches of water peeking through around its lower reaches.

Another feature of this area are the flat-topped , formed by a geological process called 'plume volcanism': a large body of magma seeped through Earth's surface and formed a blanket of kilometres thick. Over time, cracks in the rock filled with water and eroded into the rivers and lakes we see today.

Provided by European Space Agency

Credit: Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2016), processed by ESA

Sentinel-2A brings us over the snowy landscape of the Putorana Plateau in northern Central Siberia.

The area pictured shows part of the Putoransky State Nature Reserve, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Situated about 100 km north of the , the site serves as a major migration route – an increasingly rare natural phenomenon – and is one of the very few centres of plant species richness in the Arctic.

Virtually untouched by human influence, this isolated range includes pristine forests and cold-water lake and river systems. The lakes are characterised by elongated, fjord-like shapes, such as Lake Ayan in the upper-central part of the image.

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APA citation: Image: Sentinel-2A captures Putorana Plateau, Siberia (2016, October 28) retrieved 26 September 2021 from https://phys.org/news/2016-10-image-sentinel-2a-captures-putorana-plateau.html

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