Batagaika Crater

About Batagay Crater:

• It is also called the “gateway to the underworld,” by some locals in Russia’s Sakha Republic.
• Location: It is located in Russia’s Far East that forms the world’s biggest permafrost crater.
• It is a crater or megaslump, features a rounded cliff face that was first spotted on satellite images in 1991 after a section of hillside collapsed in the Yana Uplands of northern Yakutia in Russia.
• Scientists believe that the crater is the result of a melting permafrost land, which was frozen during the Quaternary Ice Age 2.58 million years ago.

What is Permafrost?

• Permafrost is any ground that remains completely frozen—32°F (0°C) or colder—for at least two years straight.
• Global Distribution
  • These permanently frozen grounds are most common in regions with high mountains and in Earth’s higher latitudes—near the North and South Poles.
  • It covers large regions of the Earth. Almost a quarter of the land area in the Northern Hemisphere has permafrost underneath.

Q1: What is Snowpack?

Snowpack refers to the snow that has fallen on the ground and does not melt for months due to below-freezing temperatures is called a snowpack. Snowpacks can consist of multiple layers of snow, each one from a different snowfall, that become compacted under the weight of the subsequent layers that lie on top.

Source: Gateway to the underworld’ in Siberia is growing at a staggering rate every year: Study

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