Cosmonaut Photos: Kondyor Massif in Russian Far East | International Space Station
Expedition 74 commander and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey-Kud Sverchkov of Russia: "Another landmark of the Far East. It's completely unpopular with tourists, and therefore little-known. But that doesn't make it any less remarkable.
. . . This is the Kondyor mountain range in Khabarovsk Krai. The local Evenki called this mountain Urgulya and considered it sacred, and in 1936, Soviet explorers of the Far East discovered it.
This perfect ring, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter and with an elevation difference of approximately 600 meters, is a true geological wonder.
Where did it come from?
Various theories have been put forward regarding the formation of this unusual massif, from the fall of a giant meteorite to volcanic activity. The truth turned out to be much more prosaic: the massif was formed by a magmatic intrusion. To put it more clearly, a magma flow (a magmatic diapir—an inverted magma drop) rose under pressure along a fault in the Earth's crust, melting rocks, but ultimately failed to reach the surface. This process continued for over 60,000 years, resulting in the magma pushing out the upper layers of rock, lifting them into a dome. Erosion over 150 million years transformed the dome into a ring of durable ultramafic rocks (more precisely, a dunite-clinopyroxenite-gabbro complex). I intentionally inserted a geological term here to make it sound terrifying, beautiful, and powerful. And relatable to those who understand geology.
But shape isn't the only feature of this place. The material that rose from the depths to the surface brought with it large quantities of platinum, gold, chromium, and other valuable metals, such as iridium and rhodium. There's also an endemic mineral here—conderite. Until the 1970s, platinum was found in the Kondyor River bed, which flows out of the massif. Mining later extended to the primary source in the center of the massif. This is one of the largest platinum deposits in the world, with nuggets weighing between 1.5 and 3.5 kg found here. This is another reason why the area is closed to tourists."
The Kondyor Massif or Konder is a circular intrusion of igneous rock, about 8 kilometers (5 mi) in diameter. It is located in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, c. 600 km (373 mi) west-southwest of Okhotsk, or c. 570 km (354 mi) south-east of Yakutsk. It is reached from Yakutsk by road via Amga. The Kondyor Massif is a textbook example of a ring intrusion, renowned for its remarkable geometric circularity and distinct ridge-and-depression topography. It serves as a global reference site for the study of alkaline-ultramafic magmatism and associated platinum-group element mineralization.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/
Station Commander: Sergey-Kud Sverchkov (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Andrey Fedyaev, Sergei Mikaev
An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.
Release Date: May 16, 2026
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