Glaciated Landscapes of Arctic and Subarctic Russia

The Quaternary Ice Age produced a great variety of landscapes in northern Eurasia. Their diversity is expressed in various large elements of physiography—vast plains of sedimentary basins and mountain systems up to 3 km high—all embellished with glacigenic features. The indelible imprint on northern landscapes was exerted by the outstanding continentality of climate which played a significant role in the Quaternary climate changes of northern Eurasia. It led to the specific Siberian type of inland glaciation in which glacier ice was often fused together with the old and stable permafrost. This resulted in many relict Pleistocene features of the present-day scenery, including thick slabs of fossil glacier ice well preserved in the arctic terrains. This essay deals with main landscape peculiarities of northern Russia originated during the Ice Age as understood by the majority of native and international investigators. A brief note on the influence of Pleistocene inland glaciation on the principal petroleum reserves is added.