Deep in the forests of southeastern Siberia, Patomisky Crater is a mysterious mound of crumbled limestone protruding from the vegetation on the hillside. To date, people still cannot determine its clear origin.
When a young geologist went on a geological mapping expedition north of the Irkutsk region in Siberia, he encountered something so special and mysterious that, even more than six decades later, the scientist still confused about it – Patomskiy Crater.
It is August 1949. Geologist Vadim Kolpkov has just heard a story from the locals about a strange place in the forest called “Fire Eagle’s Nest”.
Legend warns of illness, disappearance and even death for those who venture close (in fact, in 2005, the leader of the mission to the actual crater died suddenly near). Unfazed by the warnings, Kolpkov climbed the hill and was shocked by what he saw from afar.
The origin of the distinctive rock formation rising from the dense taiga on the slopes of the Patom Plateau remains unknown 70 years later, although There have been many expeditions and scientific research. It has a base diameter of about 160 meters and a height of about 40 meters. In the center of the circular limestone block there is a smaller mound with a height of about 12 meters.
Some say the cause was a meteorite impact, a volcanic eruption or even a UFO. However, none of these hypotheses has been conclusively proven. The crater is estimated to be about 300 years old, based on the age of the trees growing nearby.
“Of course, there are still many strange things about the crater. There is still no unified and definitive consensus on this issue. Together with geomorphologists, we have decided that this is the version that has most likely,” he told the Siberian Times .
Previously, Voronin suggested that a UFO might have crashed there with its nuclear engine still on – a theory for which he was widely criticized.
