Vasyugan Swamps

The Vasyugan mire covers something over fifty thousand square kilometres between the Ob and the Irtysh, larger than Switzerland, and is generally described as the largest single bog system on earth. It began forming around ten thousand years ago as the climate warmed after the glaciation, and it is still expanding, swallowing forest at its margins at a measurable rate. Its significance is climatic: peat bogs of this scale hold enormous stores of carbon - estimates for Vasyugan run to over a billion tonnes - and they lock it away as long as they stay wet, which makes the system a global-scale feature rather than a regional one. It feeds several major rivers and holds substantial bird populations. Practically it is not a destination: there are no roads, no settlements across most of it, ground that will not carry weight in summer, and winter passage requires a serious expedition. Oil and gas infrastructure crosses parts of it.

History

The mire began to form nearly 10,000 years ago and has kept growing ever since: 75% of its present area became waterlogged less than 500 years ago, and it now covers 53,000 km2 (Wikipedia, Vasyugan Swamp).

The landscape

• The scale - over fifty thousand square kilometres, the largest bog system on earth.
• The growth - a mire still expanding into surrounding forest.
• The carbon store - peat holding over a billion tonnes, locked in while it stays wet.
• The inaccessibility - no roads, no settlements and ground that will not bear weight.

When to go

Winter, when the ground freezes, is the only practical access, and that means an expedition rather than a visit. There is no visitor programme.

Before you go

This is not a place to go - there is no infrastructure, no route and no reason to attempt it casually. Summer ground is impassable and genuinely dangerous. Any operator selling casual Vasyugan trips is worth serious scepticism. The interest here is scientific and climatic, not touristic.

Nearby

Tomsk is the regional centre; the Ob and Irtysh bound the system.

Key facts