The Patomskiy crater or Patom crater (Russian: Патомский кратер, Patomskiy Krater), also known as Конус Колпакова, Konus Kolpakova "Kolpakov cone")[1] is a peculiar rock formation located in the Bodaibo District of the Irkutsk region of southeastern Siberia, 360 kilometres (220 mi) from the district center Bodaibo.

[2] It is a large mound made of shattered limestone blocks on the slopes of the Patom Highlands in an area of dense taiga.

[3] Until recently, some scientists believed that the crater presents a large footprint of an ultra-dense meteorite, which had sunk underground upon impact.

The presence of weathered breccias, the diameter/height ratio typical of volcanic cones, the absence of geochemical anomalies linked to cosmogenic origins, and its zoning of different ages, clearly contradict the meteorite hypothesis.

Performing gravimetric and geoelectrical investigations, they also came to the firm conviction that Patom crater has an origin of an endogenetic nature," said Antipin.