Altay Mountains
The Altay Mountains are a complex and multifrontier chain with three distinctive spurs: the Altay proper (Russia and Kazakhstan), Mongolian Altay (Mongolia and China), and Gobi Altay (China). The assemblage stretches 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) in a southeast to northwest direction from the Gobi Desert to the West Siberian Plain and reaches an elevation of 4,506 meters (14,783 feet) on Belukha. In the Turkic-Mongolian language, altan means "golden," reflecting the belief of early inhabitants that the mountains were rich in precious metals. Sediments dating from 500 to 300 million years ago were uplifted during the recent Quaternary period (1.6 million years ago) and have since been sculpted by glacial and river erosion into an alpine appearance. There are 1,500 active glaciers, 3,500 lakes, and 4 distinct mountain vegetation zones (subdesert, steppe, forest, and alpine). Animal life is of Mongolian (e.g., marmot, antelope) or Siberian (e.g., bears, lynx, musk deer) origin. The extreme continental climate results in long and very cold winters and short, warm summers. Average annual precipitation varies with elevation, from 500–1,000 millimeters (20–40 inches), and is highest on the windward western slopes. Altay ridgelines divide the Arctic-bound Ob/Irtysh River from the interior and often saline basins of Central Asia.
Indigenous Altaic peoples, Russians, and Kazakhs share the Altay proper. Khalkha Mongols and Kazakhs predominate in the Mongolian and Gobi Altay. Livestock (cattle, sheep, and horses), agriculture, mining, forest products, and food processing are the mostimportant economic pursuits. Since the 1940s, Soviet and Chinese government policies have opened this once remote region to logging, mining, and hydroelectric development.
Stephen F. Cunha
Further Reading
Campbell, Matthew. (1994) "Ice Maiden of the Steppes." World Press Review 41, 6: 40–41.
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. (1989) Nomads of Eurasia. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press.
Polosmak, Natalia. (1994) "A Mummy Unearthed from the Pastures of Heaven." National Geographic 186, 4 (October): 80–103.
Rerikh, Nikolai K. (1996) Altai-Himalaya: A Travel Diary. Delhi: Book Faith, India.
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