Mount Andoma: a Unique Deformation of Devonian Strata along the Shoreline of Lake Onega

Mount Andoma, a geomorphologically unique natural monument of northwestern Russia, can be described as a high cape-like promontory that extends into Lake Onega from its southeastern shore. It is comprised of deformed Upper Devonian strata, which are rich in fossilized fish. Located west of the Andoma Highland, which divided the ice sheet during the last glacial, Mount Andoma rises above the lake and adjacent lowlands, thereby constituting a local topographic anomaly. The structural dislocations and deformation of Mount Andoma have commonly been attributed to landslide processes, but we contest that a glacial origin is better supported by examination of the underlying geological structure and patterns of topographic relief.