Truly one of the most unique rock formations in Russia is “Lena Pillars”. The pillars themselves are in one of the most unpopulated area in all of Russia which has made them very inaccessible to tourists. The are also the guardians to the river which bears the same name – the Lena river.The pillars and river are within the Sakha Republic. The republic size wise is comparable to India (3 million km sq), but India’s population of one billion plus Indians shadows over the whole republic of just one million souls.
After doing a bit of checking around it seems Lena comes from an old Even word – ‘Elyu-En’ – which means ‘big river’. It truly is a very big river, in fact it’s the 8th largest river in the world. Interestingly enough one can visit the pillars in the middle of winter if you are willing to brave the sub zero temperatures. If you make this decision there’s a group that will take you on a one day trip to the park during this time. It also seems that one can do a bit of fishing on the river from one of the blogs I found.
The pillars themselves consists of the alternating horizons of limestone, marlstones, dolomite and slate of the Lower/Middle Cambrian, that are weathered in such a way that it produces the rugged outcrops. They are considered a karst formation that created this beautiful landscape, all of which has been continuously eroding for thousands of years. There is also a wealth of geologic evidence in the surrounding area that in the past this area held many life forms like the wooly mammoth all of which can be found near the stone forest of Lena, along with other species that haven’t been seen since Cambrian times. Today 464 species of plants and wildlife have been cataloged that are in great abundance in the area.
In 2012 UNESCO, announced that the Lena Pillars, in Russia’s Far East, would be the last addition to its World Heritage List for the year. The addition of the Lena Pillars Nature Park brings Russia’s total of cultural and natural sites recognized on the World Heritage List to 25.
Sources:
- http://int.rgo.ru/news/more-than-just-the-russian-far-east/
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lena_Pillars
- http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-lena-pillars-added-to-unesco-list/24632898.html
- http://www.sharewonders.com/the-pillars-of-lena-in-siberia/
- http://eugene.kaspersky.com/2013/08/29/yakutia-lena-pillars/
- http://askyakutia.com/2013/01/1-day-winter-travel-yakutsk-to-lena-stone-pillars-unesco-world-heritage-site-on-lena-river-in-yakutia-siberia-russia-photos/
Life in Russia 
I often find myself staring at the vastness of the Russian territory on a map, asking myself “What the hell is out there???”
There must be tons of amazing sites like these, that nobody knows of, except for a few scientists and the handful of people who eke out a living in these parts.
The country is huge. But I’m amazed that most of it is known by man.The biggest problem is the infrastructure is so poor.
Very interesting landscape .
Russia has always been there in my dreams from childhood.
I had plenty of story books from the soviet republics.
We used to subscribe magazines named, sovietland, sputink, science in ussr and many others…
Most of these stopped after 1992.
And USSR-Russia was always been the best friend of India, so goes my love affair with this vast nation.
Would love to hear more from there through your beautiful blog.
Have a nice day.
Hello,
Thank you. I really enjoy blogging about Russia. It beauty and breadth which abound with wonder, it’s mysterious and mystifying at the same time. Things I love to incorporate into my blog.