The Patomskiy Crater
Deep in the Siberian forest stands a cone of broken limestone with a crater on top, and no one is sure how it got there.
What was reported
In 1949, geologist Vadim Kolpakov came upon a strange mound in the remote Patom Highlands: a cone of broken limestone about 40 metres high and 160 metres across, with a ring-shaped trench at the top and a smaller mound in its centre.
Local Yakut people avoided it, calling it the 'fiery eagle's nest'. Trees growing on it suggest it is a few hundred years old.
Explanations offered
A meteorite impact was first suspected, and some linked it to the Tunguska event, but no meteorite material has been found. Volcanic activity is unlikely because no volcanic rock is present. Most researchers now suggest a sudden release of gas or fluid from deep underground pushed up the broken rock.
- When
- Found in 1949
- Where
- Patom Highlands, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia
- Witnesses
- Geologist Vadim Kolpakov and later expeditions
- Status
- Unexplained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.