Essei Basin

(also the Essei-Muruktin Basin), an extensive depression in the northern part of the Middle Siberian Plateau, in Evenki NO, Krasnoiarsk Krai. The Essei Basin is 200 km long, and its bottom lies at an elevation of 200–300 m (120–150 m in the Kotui Valley). The basin is composed of clays and sands from the Anthropogenic period and, in places, of Permian-Triassic sandstones. Within it (in the upper reaches of the Kotui) the winters are very cold, with minimum temperatures near −70°C. The summers are moderately cool, with temperatures in July from 12° to 15°C. The basin is drained by the Kotui and Moiero rivers and their tributaries; Lake Essei lies in the western part. The Essei Basin is covered with larch forest-tundra alternating with treeless swampy areas.