Deep within the forests of southeastern Siberia, the Patomskiy crater emerges as a mysterious limestone rubble mound protruding from the vegetation on the hillside. To this day, its clear origin remains undetermined.
In August 1949, a young geologist named Vadim Kolpkov joined an expedition to map the geology in the northern region of Irkutsk, Siberia. He encountered something so special and mysterious that even over six decades later, scientists are still perplexed by it – the Patomskiy Crater.
Patomskiy Crater.
Kolpkov had just heard a local tale about a strange site in the forest known as the “Eagle’s Nest”. The legend warned of illness, disappearance, and even death for those who dared to approach (in fact, in 2005, the head of a mission to the crater suddenly died nearby). Unfazed by the warnings, Kolpkov climbed the hill and was shocked by what he saw from a distance. He later noted:
“The first time I saw the crater, I thought I was going crazy from the heat. And indeed, an object of extremely bizarre shape, the size of a 25-story building with its top chopped off, standing amidst the forest was quite a surprising discovery.”
“From afar, it looked like a pile of slag in a mine, only white. I even thought: There must be workers there, but in reality, there was no labor camp in the area.”
“My second thought was that it was an archaeological artifact. But the local Evenks and Yakuts, with all due respect to them, couldn’t have built stone pyramids, as they lacked the necessary manpower and scientific knowledge.”
“I got closer and realized that this mysterious hill was not man-made. It resembled a perfectly round crater, about 70 meters high. However, there hadn’t been a volcano in the borders of the Yakutia and Irkutsk regions for millions of years. And the crater appeared quite new. It is located on the slope of a hillside densely forested with pines.”
“The trees had not yet grown on the slope and inside the crater; the wind had not brought soil in. And another mystery – a dome-shaped cavity, 15 meters in diameter, at the center of the crater. Such domes cannot even exist in dormant volcanoes.”
The origin of this unusual rock formation rising from the dense taiga forest on the Patom Plateau remains unknown 70 years later, despite numerous expeditions and scientific studies. It has a base diameter of about 160 meters and a height of approximately 40 meters. At the center of the circular limestone mass lies a smaller mound, about 12 meters high.
Many theories exist regarding the origins of the Patomskiy Crater. (Illustrative image).
Some believe that the cause lies in a meteorite impact, a volcanic eruption, or even UFOs. However, none of these theories have been convincingly proven. The crater is estimated to be around 300 years old based on the age of nearby trees.
Speaking of trees… Some of them are indeed enormous and exhibit unusually rapid growth compared to the surrounding vegetation. Scientists have notably discovered abnormalities in the annual growth rings of trees over 200 years old. Some trees fell or broke in 1841-1842, coinciding with a notable narrowing of their growth rings, indicating decline.
The complexity deepens when analyzing the tree rings near the crater. In that same year, 1842, the tree rings significantly increased, maintaining a surprisingly high level for about 40 years before drastically narrowing.
Viktor Voronin, a professor of biological sciences and head of the laboratory at the Siberian Institute of Physiology and Biochemistry of Plants, who also visited the Patomskiy Crater, stated: “I only know one similar case.” “After the Chernobyl disaster due to radiation, tree growth significantly increased. Perhaps we are dealing with something similar here? Indeed, the current background radiation in the crater is low. But perhaps at some point, radioactive isotopes existed here for a short time, gathering, decaying, and then the radiation level dropped to natural levels?”
Since the discovery of the tree anomalies, Voronin and his colleagues have conducted numerous experiments and analyses within the crater, indicating that it is likely a unique volcano, the only one of its kind in this territory.
“Of course, there are still many strange things about the crater. There is yet to be a unified and definitive consensus on this matter. Together with geomorphologists, we have concluded that this is the most plausible version”, he told Siberian Times.
Previously, Voronin speculated that a UFO with a running nuclear engine might have crashed there – a theory he has been widely criticized for.
The Patomskiy Crater is one of the most fascinating natural wonders in the world. (Illustrative image).
However, an analysis of the trees that Voronin sent to the Budker Nuclear Research Institute in Novosibirsk revealed a sudden increase in levels of strontium and uranium in the growth rings. These levels were 3 to 4 times higher than normal and persisted for about 20 years before returning to normal. If this is a “gas volcano,” then where did this radiation come from?
So, what is the secret behind these giant trees? Are they the result of some natural phenomenon or something more mysterious? Could they relate to the origins of the crater? These are some of the unanswered questions, making the Patomskiy Crater one of the most captivating natural wonders in the world.
