Taymyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug
Physical geography and climate
The Taymyr (or Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug forms part of a major administrative uni, the
Krasnoyarsk
Territory
. It comprises the tundra and polar desert areas of the
Taymyr
Peninsula
, the Kheta, Kotuy and
Khatanga
River
valleys, and the northern part of the Anabarskoye and Putorana plateaus. It also comprises the lowermost
Yenisey
River
valley in its southwestern corner. The okrug is bound by the Yamalo-Nenets Aut. Okrug to the west, and by the
Sakha
Republic
(Yakutia) to the east and by the Evenk Aut. Okrug and the Turukhansk District of the
Krasnoyarsk
Territory
to the south. Most of the landscape is flat or hilly, mostly below 200 m.a.s.l., but the
Byrranga
Range
in northern Taymyr, as well as the two mentioned plateaus in the south, rise to elevations exceeding 1000 m, and even 1600 m in the Putorana Plateau. The Yenisey river, draining major parts of central and southern
Siberia
, runs into the
Kara
Sea
with a 450 km long estuary.
Most of Taymyr is barren tundra, only the
Kotuy
River
valley and a strip along the
Khatanga
and Kheta rivers and towards the lower
Yenisey
River
is forest tundra with open larch vegetation. The Byrranga Ridge is the only extensive polar desert area in mainland
Siberia
and is devoid of all appreciable vegetation. The okrug has an arctic-maritime (north) to subarctic-continental (south) climate and is entirely situated within the zone of continuous permafrost. The frost-free period is ca. 2 months in the river valleys, and less, although significantly varying, in the mountain areas and along the northern coast. Winter ice covers the entire coast and open sea to the north (ca. October-July), and almost constant sea ice lies around Mys Chelyuskin, which is the northernmost point of mainland
Siberia
(77°45’N). Average temperatures are -28° (west) to -40°C (southeastern mountains) in January, and +4° (north) to +12°C (south) in July. The minimum temperature measured at Dikson in January is -51°C.