The development of the territory which now constitutes the oblast began in the early 17th century. Tomsk itself was founded in 1604. Some of the oblast's territory is inaccessible because it is covered with taiga woods and swamps. Tomsk oblast contains Vasyugan Swamp, the biggest swamp in the northern hemisphere. The oblast borders with Krasnoyarsk Krai and Tyumen, Omsk, Novosibirsk, and Kemerovo Oblasts.
