View of the Putorana Plateau from the aircraft. The rock stratification creates peculiar patterns of forest cover. (Photo: L. Belelli)Leaving Moscow behind we fly over the taiga, across the Urals and the west Siberian lowland where the river Ob and its tributaries draw sinuous lines in the ice. As we fly further east reaching night, the full moon lights up the Siberian landscape, still perfectly crystallized by winter frost.

 

The light is magnificent, the ashen moonlight of the cloudless sky is progressively strengthened by reddish beans of light. Looking northwards the sky becomes a gradient of colours, ranging from purples to oranges, which precedes the sun, just hidden behind the north cap. The scene is a privilege for whomever flies along these high latitude routes and it is difficult to remain indifferent to the scene, even after many trips.

 

Once over the Yenisey, the land is sufficiently lighted so we can clearly distinguish the details of the huge basaltic platform stretching over western Yacutia. The last electric lights of a village and a mining facility, appear like buoys in the middle of the ocean, sliding out of view. Then nothing more, no trace of any dwelled place or human construction, at least judging from a height of 10 km. Only the work of nature is on online casino blog view which began 500 million year ago during the Cambrian period, with a massive volcanic activity followed by years of erosion, creating the geological structure we see today. The particular rock stratification of this region causes the larches forests, the dominant tree species in this extreme climate, to grow in stripes appearing as contour lines of a topographic map.

 

 

Luca