Plateaus in Russia: Central Siberian and Central Russian Uplands

How Russia’s Plateau Regions Fit the Country

Russia spans several major physical regions, so its plateau geography changes greatly from west to east. European Russia is dominated by the East European Plain, within which lower uplands rise above neighboring lowlands. Farther east, the West Siberian Plain forms an enormous low-relief region before the land rises again into the Central Siberian Plateau.

This creates three broad terrain settings:

• European Russia: low plains interrupted by rolling uplands and watershed surfaces.
• Western Siberia: extensive lowland terrain dominated by the West Siberian Plain.
• Central Siberia: raised plateau systems divided by large rivers and strongly dissected valleys.

The plateau regions therefore need to be understood within their parent physical regions rather than compared only by elevation.

Russia’s Main Plateau and Upland Regions

The Central Siberian Plateau as a Regional System

The Central Siberian Plateau is best treated as a broad parent landform containing several internal plateaus, ridges and dissected uplands. On continental relief maps it appears as a large raised block east of the West Siberian Plain, but detailed maps divide that block into many smaller physiographic units.

Putorana, Anabar, Syverma, Tunguska and Vilyuy are among the regional names used within this wider setting. These subdivisions differ in elevation, rock exposure and relief, but they remain geographically connected to the larger Central Siberian plateau system.

A country-level inventory should therefore identify the Central Siberian Plateau as the parent region and list its internal units without reproducing the geology, river systems, permafrost conditions or elevation profile of each one.

The Central Russian Upland Within the East European Plain

The Central Russian Upland belongs to a very different physical setting. It rises within the East European Plain rather than forming a high plateau between major mountain or basin systems.

Its surface is composed of broad rolling interfluves separated by river valleys, gullies and ravines. The region is low compared with the Siberian plateaus, yet it stands sufficiently above adjoining terrain to form a recognizable watershed and upland system.

For this reason, upland is the more precise English term. Calling it a high plateau would imply a relief pattern that does not match its position within European Russia.

Central Siberia and Central Russia Compared

Plateau Subdivisions in Central Siberia

The scale of the Central Siberian Plateau makes subdivision necessary. Different maps emphasize different regional units, but the repeated pattern is a large parent plateau broken into smaller plateaus, ridges and river-divided uplands.

Why the West Siberian Plain Is Not Part of the Plateau

The West Siberian Plain lies west of the Central Siberian Plateau and belongs to a different physiographic region. It is dominated by enormous low-relief surfaces rather than dissected plateau terrain.

The broad transition near the Yenisei side of Siberia is therefore useful on national relief maps. Low western terrain gives way eastward to a raised and more strongly dissected interior.

Keeping these regions separate prevents the term Siberian Plateau from being applied too broadly to landscapes that belong to the neighboring plain.

Russia’s Plateau Geology Varies by Region

No single geological process explains all of Russia’s plateau and upland landscapes. The Central Siberian Plateau sits on an ancient continental platform and includes major sectors where basaltic rocks are widespread, together with sedimentary and crystalline terrain.

The Central Russian Upland belongs to another geological setting. Older basement lies beneath younger sedimentary cover, while loose surface deposits influence much of the modern rolling landscape.

At national scale, the contrast can be summarized without reducing either region to one rock type:

• Central Siberia: ancient platform terrain, broad plateau surfaces and large areas influenced by volcanic rocks.
• European Russia: lower erosional uplands developed above older basement and younger sedimentary cover.

Detailed volcanic sequences, rock ages, individual formations and local erosion histories belong to the named-region scale.

Drainage Across Russia’s Plateau and Upland Regions

Raised terrain influences river direction in both European and Asian Russia, but the drainage patterns operate at different scales.

Across the Central Siberian Plateau, major valleys cut through the elevated interior and divide it into plateau blocks and interfluves. Western sectors connect strongly with the Yenisei drainage system, while eastern areas connect with rivers belonging to the wider Lena basin.

The Central Russian Upland functions more as a watershed surface within European Russia. Rivers leaving its different sides ultimately enter several major drainage systems.

The individual courses, canyon sections, tributaries and basin histories require a finer regional scale than a country plateau overview.

Climate Contrasts Across Russia’s Raised Regions

Russia’s plateau climates reflect latitude, continental position and elevation. Central Siberia lies within a much colder continental setting than European Russia, and broad northern sectors experience long winters and widespread frozen-ground conditions.

The Central Russian Upland lies much farther west and south. Its landscape belongs mainly to temperate continental forest-steppe and steppe environments and contains extensive cultivated land.

These environmental differences belong to the broad national comparison. Local permafrost patterns, soil profiles, vegetation zones and agricultural conditions vary within each named region.

Plateau, Upland, Plain and Highland

Russian relief is easier to classify when related landform terms remain separate.

Absolute Elevation and Relative Relief

The contrast between Central Siberia and the Central Russian Upland shows why elevation alone does not determine plateau classification.

Absolute elevation measures height above sea level. Relative relief measures the difference between nearby high and low terrain. Regional position describes how an upland sits relative to neighboring plains, valleys or plateau surfaces.

Central Siberia generally combines higher absolute elevation with stronger local relief. The Central Russian Upland has much lower absolute elevation but remains a recognizable raised watershed because it stands above neighboring terrain and is cut by numerous valleys.

How Russia’s Plateau Regions Appear on Physical Maps

The major regions can be separated by combining relief shading with river patterns and neighboring lowlands.

• In western Siberia, look for the extensive low relief of the West Siberian Plain.
• East of that lowland, terrain rises into the broad Central Siberian plateau system.
• Within Central Siberia, major river valleys separate regional plateaus and upland blocks.
• In northwestern Central Siberia, Putorana stands out as a more rugged plateau sector.
• In European Russia, the Central Russian Upland appears as gently elevated watershed terrain rather than a sharply bounded high plateau.
• On detailed maps, drainage and valley incision often reveal upland boundaries more clearly than elevation color alone.

Regional Names Operate at Different Scales