Mountains bordering Altai. Altai (Mountain System). Altai Mountains: general characteristics

Mount Belukha is a symbol of Altai, a transboundary object at the junction of the borders of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Russian Federation. This is the highest mountain in Altai and Siberia (4506 m), its slopes are covered with eternal snow and glaciers. This is the kingdom of snow, ice, thundering avalanches and sparkling waterfalls. Since time immemorial, it has been attracting tourists from all over the world like a magnet.

Excerpts from a photo diary of a trip to Belukha...

1. We walk the last 50 km to the destination of our trip; it is impossible to get there any other way (except by helicopter). We carefully cross the bridge over the Belaya Berel River, built in 1938.

The river originates a little higher from the Berel glaciers at the foot of Belukha, flowing from ice grotto. It got its name from the milky white color of the water from dissolved minerals.

2. The bridge over the Belaya Berel River is a rather complex engineering structure that has been in service for more than 75 years. It was built from larch and nailed together with forged nails.

3. Approaching the Lower Camp (at the foot of Belukha) the first thing you hear is the noise of the largest Kokkol waterfall in Altai. At the confluence with the Belaya Berelya, the bed of the Bolshaya Kokkol River approaches a sharp ledge about 80 meters high with a steepness of 60-70 degrees. From here, a water stream over 10 meters wide rushes down from the wall of the Berel spur with a deafening roar that can be heard far around.

It does not fall down along the ridge and rocks on the left and right sides, but flows down in narrow, swift ‘snakes’. When falling from high altitude Fine water dust is formed, ionizing the air in the valley. On sunny days, rising above the waterfall, it is painted with all the colors of the rainbow. Powerful waterfall, a picturesque gorge overgrown with beautiful cedar and spruce forests, give extraordinary beauty and the charm of this corner of Altai nature.

4. The majestically beautiful, unapproachable two-headed queen of the Altai mountains, Belukha, is represented by two peaks in the form of irregular pyramids - Eastern (4506 m) and Western Belukha (4435 m).

5. Eastern Belukha (4506 m).

6. Western Belukha (4435 m). The depression between the peaks, called the Belukha Saddle (4000 m), also drops steeply to the north to the Akkem glacier (the so-called Akkem wall) and more gently descends to the south to the Katun River.

7. 'Belukha Saddle' (4000 m). 'The Dwelling of the Gods', 'The Great Old Man' - this is what the Altai people call the city of Belukha. And according to N.K. Roerich is a mountain about which “even the deserts whisper.” Travelers who have contemplated the grandeur of the sparkling double-headed peak speak of its unearthly beauty, the amazing change of colors at sunset, the stunning proximity of the sky, the vibrant twinkling of stars. The Belaya Berel and Katun rivers originate from the Belukha glaciers. The name comes from the abundant snow covering Belukha from the top to the very base.

8. The Belukha area is located on the border of zones of 7-8 magnitude seismic activity. Microearthquakes are very common here. Their consequences are the breaking of the ice shell, avalanches and landslides. The tectonic instability of the Belukha territory is evidenced by faults, cracks and thrusts of rocks.

9. The climate of the Belukha region is harsh with long cold winters and short summers with rain and snowfall. In winter, negative air temperatures are observed in January down to −48C and remain low even in March down to −5C. In summer, frosts down to −20C are not uncommon at the top of Belukha.

There are 169 glaciers known on the slopes of the Belukha massif and in the valleys, with a total area of 150 square kilometers. In terms of the number of glaciers and glaciation, Belukha ranks first on the Katunsky Ridge. 6 large glaciers are concentrated here, among them the Sapozhnikov glacier - one of the largest in Altai - 10.5 km long, with an area of 13.2 sq. km, as well as the Big and Small Berel glaciers, 10 and 8 km long and with an area of 12.5 and 8.9 km sq. respectively.

The speed of ice movement is not the same and on average ranges from 30 to 50 m per year. The accumulation of snow on steep slopes leads to avalanches. Belukha is one of the intense avalanche-prone areas of Altai.

10. The rivers Katun, Kucherla, Akkem, Idygem originate here. The Belaya Berel River drains the south-eastern slope and belongs to the Bukhtarma River basin. Water streams, born near the Belukha glaciers, form a special Altai type of rivers. Melt water from glaciers and snow takes part in feeding the rivers; rainfall is of little importance. The rivers are fast-flowing and often form waterfalls. The lakes in the area of Mount Belukha lie in deep carts and trough valleys.

Here you can meet rare birds: the Himalayan Accentor and the Siberian mountain finch.

11. Himalayan Accentor.

12. Siberian mountain finch.

13. From the Lower Camp at the foot of Belukha, the peaks Vera 2591 m, Nadezhda 2709 m, Lyubov 3039 m are clearly visible, in the bowl of which at an altitude of 2400 m there is Lake Equilibrium, formed by melting glaciers. The purest glacial water, everything is visible to the very bottom (3-4 m). It is interesting to take photos of Beluga whale from there early in the morning when it is reflected in the mirror of the lake.

Beluga whale reflected in Lake Balance:

14. From the lake (using a telephoto lens) the grotto from which the Belaya Berel River flows is clearly visible. It originates from glaciers (Bolshoi and Maly Berelsky). then goes under the ice tongue and then flows out of the grotto. The ice is sprinkled with crumbled rubble, which is dangerous to walk on - gaps, voids.

15. View of the Katunsky ridge (the Kazakh-Russian border runs along it), Belukha 4509 m, Delone peak 3869 m, Urusvati 3543 m.

16. Mount Urusvati, 3543 m. (Sanskrit: “Light of the Morning Star”).

17. Upper Camp. It is located approximately 10 km from the Lower Camp (at the foot of Belukha) with an elevation difference of more than 800 m (we go uphill). At approximately 2600 m there is already snow, and an almost clear boundary between green and white is visible.

18. Upper Camp (Kokkol Mine). Its history goes back to the 30s of the last century. This is a unique mining monument, founded in 1938 on the Kokkol Pass, at an altitude of about 3000 m above sea level. In the upper reaches of the Kokkol River, in the ridge part, he discovered fragments of quartz with wolframite phenocrysts. In 1937, a search party was sent here, which easily discovered a series of parallel, contiguous, thin, steeply dipping (75-85) quartz veins with industrial contents of wolframite and molybdenite.

19. Since 1938, ore mining began by hand. At the mine itself at the pass (Upper Camp or Kokkol Mine) barracks, an office, an explosives warehouse, a forge, and a processing plant were built. 9 km to the west, near the Kokkol waterfall, in the forest zone, the Lower Camp was built: a horse yard, an office. Adits passed through the ore veins. Here the ore was sorted manually. When the processing plant was built, they began to obtain a higher concentrate of ore, which was transported by horse to the village of Berel. The mine operated until 1954.

Mine Valley:

20. The Upper Camp of the Kokkol mine is perfectly preserved. Thanks to the cold arid climate, all buildings and equipment: locomobile, diesel engine, enrichment plant are in satisfactory condition and represent an excellent museum under open air. The perfectly preserved enrichment factory is unique, many of its parts are made of durable types of wood. There are also ore carts (endovkas) and the remains of a Ford car. Today only two houses remain from the Lower Camp.

21. Whether Komsomol members, civilians or Gulag prisoners worked there, evidence, sources and links on the Internet were divided almost equally. I’ll add on my own behalf that I held it in my hands old map General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces, where it was designated “Upper Gulag Camp”. On later army maps (1964, 1985-87 and 2003) it is already written “Kokkol Mine (non-residential)”.

22. Kokkol Valley.

23. Aquilegia.

24. " Warm lake"at the foot of Belukha. Formed by the waters of melting glaciers.

25. Morning in the valley of the Belaya Berel river.

Ukok Plateau (Zabara Alexander / flickr.com) Ukok Plateau (Zabara Alexander / flickr.com) Ukok Plateau (Zabara Alexander / flickr.com) Ukok Plateau (Zabara Alexander / flickr.com) Ukok Plateau (Zabara Alexander / flickr.com) Ukok Plateau (Zabara Alexander / flickr.com) Ukok Plateau (Zabara Alexander / flickr.com) Ukok Plateau (Zabara Alexander / flickr.com) Ukok Plateau (Zabara Alexander / flickr.com) Katunsky Nature Reserve in Altai (Igor Shpilenok / wikimedia. org) Black taiga of the Altai Nature Reserve (Bondarevskaya S.A. / tigirek.ru) Black taiga of the Altai Nature Reserve (Golyakov P.V. / tigirek.ru) High-mountain plant belt, subalpine meadow - Altai Nature Reserve (Semyonov Victor / tigirek.ru) Kucherlinskoe lake (Eric Pheterson / flickr.com) Lake view (Obakeneko / flickr.com)

Altai Mountains The beauty of their snowy peaks, the rapid flows of rivers and the tranquility of lakes, surrounded exclusively by Altai vegetation and representatives of the animal world, not found anywhere else, have been attracting people for thousands of years.

And if now they are a place of pilgrimage for tourists, then archaeological excavations indicate that life was seething here back in the Stone Age. And about later settlements I can see cult monuments, mounds and burial grounds, where not only metal, wooden and leather household items were found, but also embalmed bodies.

So rich cultural heritage, unique nature and the landscape of the Altai Mountains has long attracted the attention of scientists, archaeologists and historians who, with the goal of preserving this beauty for posterity, even in the beginning XIX century raised the issue of creating a protected area in Altai.

Katunsky Nature Reserve in Altai (Igor Shpilenok / wikimedia.org)

In 1932, more than 860 thousand hectares of mountain and forest lands came under state protection under the name “Altai Nature Reserve”.

IN late XIX century, or to be more precise, in 1991 the state took another part under its protection Gorny Altai- Katunsky Nature Reserve.

And this is another 159 thousand hectares of forest, mountain ranges, rivers, lakes and highest point Altai - double-headed Beluga mountain.

At the same time, a number of scientists worked to ensure that these protected areas were included in the list of world heritage sites under the jurisdiction of UNESCO. And in 1998, these two reserves, together with a unique area where the most valuable archaeological finds- Ukok plateau, were included in the list of UNESCO protected areas under the single name “Golden Mountains of Altai”

Altai Nature Reserve

The main reason why a certain territory is declared a protected area is the desire to preserve its pristine nature, rare plants and the world of animals living in this territory.

Evening on Lake Kucherlinskoye (Oleg Balashov / helgi.35photo.ru)

With a backpack on your shoulders, climbing up along the bed of the Kucherla River, coming into contact with the unique beauties of the Altai forests, after 2 days you can walk on your own feet to the recreation center “Kucherlinskoe Lake”, located on its shore. There is also an equally interesting route leading to Lake Akkem. a tourist route, however, in this lake, unlike the Kucherlinsky reservoir, there is no fish. And mostly climbers rush there with backpacks on their backs.

On the southern slope of the Katunsky ridge at the foot of Mount Belukha, another river originates - the Katun. Its name comes from the ancient Turkic word “kadyn” - mistress, but this river is actually the water “mistress” of the Altai Mountains, giving rise to the great Siberian Ob River.

The Katunsky Reserve, like the Altai Reserve, is rich in hundred-year-old cedars, larch and pine trees. Morals and roe deer, wolves and bears also run here, and high in the mountains, at the foot of Belukha, the snow leopard listed in the Red Book, the Siberian ibex and other representatives of the Altai fauna roam.

This plateau of the Golden Mountains of Altai is located at an altitude of more than 2.2 thousand m above sea level, surrounded by snowy mountain ranges, which are even higher - more than 2000 m above the plateau (Tabyn-Bogdo-Ola - 4080m, Nairamadan - 4374m).

In geopolitical terms, the uniqueness of the plateau lies in the fact that, walking along its perimeter from the southern side, you can a short time visit four countries of the world at once - Russia, Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia.

The vegetation on Ukok is relatively poor. Long cold winters with virtually no snow, spring starting in July, snowfalls in June, despite the fact that sometimes the sun warms the air to +25*C - only high-mountain grasses survive in these conditions.

Nevertheless, Kazakh shepherds still drive their sheep to this pasture, and mountain geese, black storks and vultures, golden eagles, griffon vultures and other alpine birds feel very comfortable here. And somewhere among the snowy peaks a snow leopard wanders alone in search of food.

Ukok Plateau (Zabara Alexander / flickr.com)

Shallow rivers flow like snakes across the plateau, originating from melting glaciers, and as the riverbed of the Jazator approaches, they merge with its waters. From a bird's eye view you can see how here and there large and small lakes, formed in small lagoons once created by glaciers, shine between the river snakes.

There are minerals on the plateau, as can be guessed from the name of its heights. So, not far from the Teply Klyuch pass, radon springs gush out of the ground, and Mount Molybdenum, whose height reaches 2723 m above sea level, stores molybdenum deposits in its depths.

Altaians consider this area sacred. To this day, they are against archaeological excavations here and strive to return the mummy of the “Altai princess” discovered here to its place. By the way, this discovery of Russian archaeologists in 1993 shook the whole world.

Archaeologists, studying inch by inch the secrets of the permafrost soils of this plateau, find here traces of the former presence of the ancient Scythian (VIII-X century BC) and Afanasyev tribes.

Today, there are about 600 archaeological sites on the Ukok plateau, which are of particular interest to the world community as historical monuments, including not only Scythian burial mounds, but also rock paintings from the Stone Age period.

Therefore, the Ukok Plateau is included in the list of “Golden Mountains of Altai” as an area under the jurisdiction of UNESCO.

“Golden Mountains of Altai” is not just a name - these are mountains with snow-capped peaks, dense forests with hundred-year-old cedars and pines. These are stormy rivers and waterfalls, a quiet surface deep lakes, these are roe deer and deer, wolves and bears, these are golden eagles and black storks. These are mounds with the embalmed bodies of former celebrities and leaders and rock paintings, as an echo of the life that once flourished here long ago. This is all that cannot be described in words, this is what needs to be seen and felt.

Posted Fri, 27/03/2015 - 08:50 by Cap

Southern Altai - mountain range in the southern Altai, the western part of which is located in Kazakhstan, East End The ridge separates Russia from China. Length about 125 km. Height up to 3871 m. In the foothills up to an altitude of 1400-1500 m there are steppe landscapes, park larch forests reach an altitude of 2100-2200 m; the high mountain zone is dominated by subalpine and alpine meadows. About 180 glaciers (including Adakhinsky - length 5 km, area 19.5 km2). It starts to the west from the Karakoba River, separating it from the Kalbinsky ridge located even further west. Passes from west to east. In the east it ends at the Tavan-Bogdo-Ula massif, which begins the Sailyugem ridges (to the east) and the Mongolian Altai (to the south).

Mongolian Altai is a mountain system in Mongolia and China (on the border). It consists of several ridges separated by valleys, stretching for 1000 km from southeast to northwest. The width varies from 150 km to 300 km, the highest point is Mount Munkh-Khairkhan-Ula (4362 m). The tops of the ridges are plateau-shaped and covered with glaciers, total area of which is 830 km². Most of them, including the largest Potanin glacier, are located in the Tavan-Bogdo-Ula massif. The ridges are mainly composed of crystalline schists, porphyries, porphyrites and granites. On the moist slopes of the southwestern side there are meadows and forests, on the dry northeastern slopes there are steppes and semi-deserts.

In the north it approaches the highlands of the Altai Republic, in the west and south there are semi-deserts and deserts of Dzungaria and Gobi, and the entire northeastern part of the system borders on the semi-deserts of the Basin Big lakes. In the east of the Mongolian Altai there is the Alag-Nur depression, which separates it from the lower Gobi Altai (altitude up to 3900 m). At the northwestern extremity of the ridge is Kanas Lake.
On the territory of China, the mountains are located in the Altai District in the Ili-Kazakh Autonomous Region of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China with its capital in Altai.

The Gobi Altai is a mountain system in the south of Mongolia, a southeastern continuation of the Mongolian Altai. The Gobi Altai consists of chains of sublatitudinal ridges and ridges, separated by dry valleys and basins and surrounded by sloping plains (bels). The length of the system is over 500 km, the prevailing heights are from 1500 to 3000 m. The highest point is the peak of Barun-Bogdo-Ula (3957 m) in the Ikh-Bogdo ridge. The vegetation in the lower zone is desert, in the upper zone it is steppe. The mountains are composed of crystalline schists, granites, sandstones and limestones. The Gobi Altai region is highly seismic. In 1957, a catastrophic earthquake of 11-12 magnitude occurred here; noticeable soil vibrations were observed over an area of 5 million km². In 1958, another earthquake occurred in the Gobi Altai, with a magnitude of 10, called the Bayan-Tsagan earthquake.

Steppe Altai is part of the Priob Plateau on the territory of the Altai Territory, gradually turning into the foothills of Altai in the south. The average height is 250-260 m. The Priob Plateau rises 50-75 m above the Kulunda Basin, the plateau is dissected by wide and deep (40-100 m) hollows, stretched parallel to each other from northeast to southwest. The bottoms of the hollows are filled with sand, the surface of which, under the influence of the wind, has acquired a hilly-ridge character. Modern rivers laid out their valleys in these hollows. The largest of them are Alei, Kasmala and Barnaulka.
In the hollow of the Kasmalinskaya ribbon there are bitterly salty lakes Bolshoye Gorkoye and Maloe Gorkoye. The climate of the plain is warmer and drier than other zones of the West Siberian Lowland. Average annual temperature on the Priob Plateau is +2.5 °C, the average annual precipitation is 450 mm. Due to the almost flat terrain, it is subject to the influence of strong winds and intrusions of air masses both from the Arctic Ocean and from Central Asia. Soils are formed on loess-like loams. Open steppe spaces on chernozem soils predominate. In some places, birch trees are found, mainly on dark gray forest soils; Ribbon pine forests (under which soddy-podzolic soils are formed), swamps and lakes are confined to the hollows of the ancient runoff. Most of the territory of the Priob Plateau is plowed.

Mount Belukha is located in the Ust-Koksinsky region of the Altai Mountains. It is the highest point of the Katunsky ridge and the highest point of Siberia. Belukha has two peaks in the form of irregular pyramids - Eastern (4506 m) and Western (4435 m), between which there is a depression - “Belukha Saddle”, 4000 m high. The two peaks of Belukha together with the peaks Delaunay and The crown of Altai forms the Akkem wall, falling almost vertically down towards the Akkem glacier.

On the territory of Russia, beyond the Urals, only in Kamchatka there is a peak higher than Belukha - Klyuchevskaya Sopka. But it’s not so much its height that attracts this mountain. As climbers say: Belukha is not for records, but for the soul. It gives off some special influence that is noticeable even at a distance from its foot. Seeing it for the first time, a person is filled with delight. In the valley of Lake Akkem, at the foot of Belukha, there is generally an atmosphere of openness and brotherhood with everyone nearby, even strangers. What Turistka.ru felt when she visited here in August 2008.

Altaians revere Belukha and consider it sacred mountain. Altai names (peak of Katun), Ak-Suru (majestic), Musdutuu (ice mountain. Belukha is not an easy mountain, it is an antenna that receives information from Space, transforms it, and distributes it to the whole Earth. People are prepared, harmonious, in connection with nature, can “communicate” with Belukha and “read” from her the information that she carries. Belukha has a harmonizing effect on a person, increasing his sensitivity and love for nature.

The famous mystical artist, artist-traveler Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich, who visited Belukha in 1926 during his Central Asian expedition, also noted the unusualness of the space around Belukha. He wrote: “We saw Belukha. It was so clean and loud. Straight to Zvenigorod.” The artist felt that there was an energy bridge between Belukha and Everest, like two space antennas. “Altai - the Himalayas, two poles, two magnets” - this is what he wrote in his diaries. Roerich made a large number of sketches in the Belukha area. And after visiting Belukha on the southern side, he painted the painting “Beluha”. In 1942, Nikolai Konstantinovich painted the painting “Victory”. In the foreground is a warrior in ancient Russian armor who slayed a dragon. On the second are the shining peaks of Belukha. In honor of N.K. Roerich and his family members are named

The first records about Belukha appeared more than 200 years ago, when the Russian scientist and traveler P.I. Shangin, in his expedition to Altai, having visited the Uimon Valley, recorded stories about Belukha hunters and miners.

The first time to reach Belukha was in 1835 by Friedrich Vilhelmovich, a well-known scientist and researcher in Altai, a doctor at the Kolyvano-Voskresensk factories. In order to collect and study medicinal plants, he traveled a lot throughout Altai and in 1836, striving for the source of the Katun, he approached Belukha from the south and discovered the Katun glacier, which was later named after him and the Berel glacier. Gebler then rose southern slope to the border of non-melting snow, made an attempt to determine the height of Belukha. Later in his article “Note on the Katun Mountains” Gebler speaks of Belukha as highest peak"Russian Altai".

A faithful researcher of Belukha for many years was the Siberian researcher and scientist, professor of Tomsk University Vasily Vasilyevich Sapozhnikov, who in the period from 1895 to 1911 was repeatedly in the Belukha area from the northern and southern sides and discovered and described the Belukha glacier massif: Akkemsky, Iedygemsky glaciers , as well as their tributaries and satellites, the Cherny glacier, Myushtuairy (Tronov Brothers) and several other glaciers in the upper reaches of Kuchurla. In 1898, after two unsuccessful attempts in previous years, Sapozhnikov and his companions reached the saddle of Belukha and measured the height of its peaks.

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SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND PHOTO:
Team Nomads
N. G. Seledtsov, N. E. Shpilekova. "To help tourists." Gorno-Altaisk, 2000
Sapozhnikov V.V. Across Altai. - M.: Geographgiz, 1949. - 579 p.
Galakhov V.P., Mukhametov R.M. Glaciers of Altai. - Novosibirsk: Science, 1999.
http://www.altai-photo.ru/
Altai Mountains - article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia
Altai landscape region in the book: N. A. Gvozdetsky, N. I. Mikhailov. Physical geography of the USSR. M., 1978.
Golden Mountains of Altai on the website of the Natural Heritage Conservation Foundation
Murzaev E. M. Dictionary of folk geographical terms. 1st ed. - M., Mysl, 1984.
Murzaev E. M. Turkic geographical names. - M., Vost. lit., 1996.
Altai // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional ones). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
http://www.turistka.ru/altai/

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Altai– a beautiful region famous for its nature. The majestic mountains of this region attract tourists from all over the world. The Altai Mountains are the most high mountains in Siberia, separated by mountain rivers and pits. The mountain system passes through four countries: Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan. On the territory of the Russian Federation, the ridges are located mainly in the Altai Republic and in the Altai Territory.

The magnificent Altai Mountains were formed about 500 million years ago. But due to climate change, earthquakes and ice ages, about 60 million years ago the mountains were severely destroyed and acquired a completely different appearance, which we can observe today. The Altai Mountains are heterogeneous in their relief. There are three main groups here: plains, mid-mountain and glacial high-mountain relief. 2000 meters is the average height of the mountains. The highest point in Altai is Mount Belukha, its height is 4506 meters.

The Altai Mountains are unique, and have been on the list since 1998 World Heritage UNESCO.

Belukha

Belukha is the highest point of Altai, recognized as the geographical center of Eurasia - it is equidistant from three oceans. This mountain has never been just a mountain, but has always represented sacred place. The ancient Altai people of Kadyn-Bazhi believed that a terrible demon lived in the mountain, who would kill everyone who tried to climb this mountain. This is what explained the regular avalanches and rockfalls caused by the earthquake.

In contrast, Buddhists believe that it is at the top of Mount Belukha that the entrance to the mythical land of the sages, Shambhala, is hidden.

They first tried to climb to the top of Belukha back in the 19th century, but this turned out to be impossible due to constant rockfalls and avalanches. The first ascent of the mountain in history took place only in 1914 by Mikhail and Boris Tronov.

Ukok Plateau

The Ukok plateau is considered the meeting point of the borders of four states - Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan. Incredible nature, thousands of small rivers and reservoirs attract tourists from all over the world to visit this place. This plateau is famous big amount cultural monuments. Rock paintings, mounds, and stone sculptures were found here. “Princess of Ukok” is the main find in this area. This is the mummy of a 25-year-old woman found here in 1993. Tattoos on her skin, as well as horses, gold, and household items buried with her, give the right to claim that she was a very noble woman. Archaeologists, historians, and art historians still continue to study this incredibly picturesque place.

Altai Mountains brief information.

And vast intramountain and intermountain basins. It extends from northwest to southeast for more than 2000 km.

Altai Mountains


The highest point of Altai is Mount Belukha and the Ak-Kem valley, view from the Kara-Turek pass

Characteristics


Square	741,569 km²

Length	1847 km

Width	1282 km

Highest point

highest peak	Belukha

Highest point	4509 m

Location

48°45′ N. w. 89°36′ E. d. HGIOL

Countries




Audio, photo and video on Wikimedia Commons

The mountain system is located on the border of Russia (Altai Territory and the Altai Republic), Mongolia (Bayan-Ulgiy and Khovd aimaks), China (Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region) and Kazakhstan (East Kazakhstan Region).

Etymology of the name

Scientific discussions

Name Altai ancient, hypotheses about its origin are different.

Geological history

According to the modern concept of lithospheric plate tectonics, the beginning of the formation of the Altai mountain-fold system could be associated with the collision of oceanic islands and uplifts (Kuraiskoye, Biysko-Katunskoye) with tectonic blocks of the paleo-island arc (Uymensko-Lebedskaya, Gorno-Shorsky, Teletsky, Chulyshmansky). In the Cambrian, the blocks of the Altai Mountains represented a mature island-arc system. Starting from the Middle Cambrian, collisions of the Gorno-Altai block with adjacent structures of Salair, Kuznetsk Alatau, and Western Sayan could have occurred, accompanied by intense shear deformations. In the regions of the eastern part of the Altai Mountains, these deformation events are expressed by breaks in sedimentation and volcanism, as well as local manifestations of adakite, subalkaline granitoid and syenite intrusive magmatism. At that time there was still a sea in the southwest.

The main source of geological events in Altai is the collision of India with the Eurasian continent. Traces of three powerful earthquakes (magnitude 7 and above) that occurred about 5500, 3400-3100 and 1300 years ago were discovered in southeastern Altai.

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