Kuznetsk Alatau ( Russian : Кузнецкий Алатау ) is a mountain range in southern Siberia , Russia . The range rises in the Altai-Sayan region of the South Siberian Mountains , northwest of Mongolia . The Siberian Railway skirts the northern limit of the range.
5-561: The Kuznetsk Alatau consists of several ridges of medium height stretching for about 300 kilometres (186 mi) between the Kuznetsk Depression and the Minusinsk Depression . The highest peak is 2,217 metres (7,274 ft) high Staraya Krepost , another important peak is 2,178 metres (7,146 ft) high Verkhny Zub . The Abakan Range is at the southern limit and to the north the range descends gradually to
10-456: A length of 400 kilometres (250 mi) and width of 120 kilometres (75 mi). It is split by a network of river valleys. The major rivers are the Tom River and Inya River , with other tributaries of Ob River . The central section has several Mesozoic basalt mountain ridges with heights of 600–740 metres (1,970–2,430 ft). They include Taradanov's Ridge, Saltymakov's Ridge, and
15-544: The West Siberian Plain . To the east lies the basin of the Yenisei . The mountains have generally a smooth outline with rather steep western slopes and gentler eastern ones. The range is composed mainly of metamorphic rocks rich in iron , manganese , nephelines , and gold . The Siberian fir overwhelmingly predominates in the forest belt except for its upper part where, at the tree line (1300–1900 m),
20-606: The siberian pine becomes dominant. The highlands are occupied mostly by vast large-stoned screes , and also by patches of subalpine meadows and, on some southern mountain massifs, of bushy, lichen and moss tundras . The basin of the Kondoma River in Gornaya Shoriya is remarkable for the Siberian lime-tree woods which are thought to be the relics of a pre- Pleistocene nemoral vegetation of Siberia. All over
25-743: The upland, the forest openings are occupied by long forb forest meadows. Kuznetsk Depression Kuznetsk Depression ( Russian : Кузнецкая котловина , Kuznetskaya kotlovina ) is located among mountains of South-Central Siberia , including: Kuznetsk Alatau to the Northeast, Salair Ridge to the Southwest, and Mountainous Shoria to the South. It is within Kemerovo Oblast . The depression has elevations up to 500 metres (1,600 ft),. It has an area of 70,000 km , with
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