Ukok Plateau ( Russian : Укок ) is a plateau covered by grasslands located in southwestern Siberia , in the Altai Mountains region of Russia near the borders with China , Kazakhstan and Mongolia . The plateau is recognized as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site entitled Golden Mountains of Altai as an important environmental treasure. It provides a habitat for many of the world's endangered species including one of its least studied predatory animals: the snow leopard . Other endangered species protected there include the argali mountain sheep , the steppe eagle , and the black stork . It is also one of the last remaining remnants of the mammoth steppe . There are several threats to the preservation of the Ukok Plateau, including overuse of the steppe by ranchers, a proposed road, and plans for a gas pipeline between China and Russia .
16-555: The Mongolian word uheg literally means "elongated cabinet", "box", "massive mountain", or big hill with a flat top. According to the oral testimony of S. Umurzakova ukok in Kyrgyz used to refer to flat-topped mountains, i.e., plateaus. The Ukok Plateau is the high-mountainous plain located between South-Altai and Sailugem and ridges at a height of 2,200–2,500 m (7,200–8,200 ft) above sea level. There are 500- to 600-metre-high (1,600–2,000 ft) mountain peaks that tower above
32-499: Is referred to in the agreements and maps as the Tavan Bogd Peak ( Russian : Таван-Богдо-Ула , Tavan-Bogdo-Ula; Mongolian : Таван Богд Уул , Tavan Bogd Uul), or Mount Kuitun ( Chinese : 奎屯山 ; pinyin : Kuítún shān ). Due to its remote and hard to access location, on a mountain covered with perpetual snows, the three states have agreed not to install a border marker at the tripoint. Other sources claim that
48-528: Is the name given by modern scholars to an ancient people who lived in the Altai Mountains on this plateau who are associated with some spectacular archeological findings, including mummies found frozen in the permafrost . Many ancient Bronze Age tomb mounds have been found in the area and have been associated with the Pazyryk culture which closely resembled that of the legendary Scythian people to
64-929: The Tabhan Bogd ( / ˈ t æ v ə n b ɒ ɡ d / ; Таван богд [ˈtʰaw̜əɴ pɔxt] ), is a mountain massif in Mongolia , near the triple border with China and Russia. Its highest peak, the Khüiten Peak (formerly also known as Nairamdal Peak), is the highest point of Mongolia at 4374 meters above sea level. The Tavan Bogd massif is located mostly within the Bayan-Ölgii Province of Mongolia; its northern slopes are in Russia's Altai Republic , and western, in China's Burqin County . Besides
80-647: The "Friendship Peak" (Nairamdal Uul in Mongolian, or Youyi Feng 友谊峰 in Chinese). The main peaks of the Tavanbogd massif are: According to satellite measurements, the total area of the glaciation in the Tavan Bogd massif area amounted to 204 km in 2009. The glaciates area was 213 km in 1989; in other words, the glaciers lost 4.2% of their area over those 20 years. Out of the countries that share
96-778: The Kanas Nature Reserve ( zh:喀纳斯湖自然风景保护区 ). Malchin Peak Malchin Peak ( Mongolian : Малчин оргил [ˈmaɬtɕʰɪ̆ɴ ˈœɾɞ̆ɟɪɬ] ; lit. ' Herder Peak ' ) is the one of five peaks of the Tavan Bogd mountain on the Mongolia–Russia border . The Peak towers at the elevation of 4,050 m (13,287 ft). It is the only one of the five peaks of Tavan Bogd that can be climbed without specialized mountain climbing equipment. This Asia mountain, mountain range, or peak related article
112-718: The Khüiten Peak, the Tavan Bogd massif includes four other peaks: Nairamdal , Malchin , Bürged ( eagle ) and Ölgii ( motherland ). According to the relevant trilateral agreements and published topographic maps, the junction point of the China–Russia border , the China–Mongolia border , and the Mongolia–Russia border is the top of a peak with the elevation of 4081 or 4104 m, at the coordinates 49°10′13.5″N 87°48′56.3″E / 49.170417°N 87.815639°E / 49.170417; 87.815639 The mountain peak
128-810: The Tavan Bogd massif from the north, is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site called the Golden Mountains of Altai . The glacier-fed stream on the western, Chinese, slope of the massif flow into the small Akkul Lake ( 阿克库勒湖 ), which in its turn drains into the Kanas Lake farther south; the Kanas Lake area has been designated AAAAA scenic area by the China National Tourism Administration . An area of 5,588 km has been designated as
144-672: The Tavan Bogd. The Mongolian part of the Tavan Bogd massif is within the Altai Tavan Bogd National Park . The park covers 6,362 km . It includes the lakes Khoton, Khurgan, and Dayan. The protected area offers a home for many species of alpine animal, such as the Argali sheep, Ibex, Red deer, Beech marten, Moose, Snow cock, and Golden eagle. On the Russian side of the border, the Ukok Plateau , adjacent to
160-640: The Ukok Plateau including Temrta III, Primorsky I, Ak-Alakha 3, Verkh-Kaldzhin 2, and the Pazyryk burial ground. The Ice Maiden and other archaeological finds were located just within a disputed strip of land between Russia and China. The residents of the Altai Republic are demanding the return of the burial artifacts from their current location in Novosibirsk . The Ukok plateau is linked to
176-711: The massif, the largest glaciated area is in Mongolia; it includes the Potanin Glacier (Mongolia's longest) and the Alexandra Glacier . According to a 2011 estimate, the northern (Russian) slope of the Tavan Bogd massif contains 12 glaciers , which cover the total of 22.8 km . According to the Russian researchers, the glaciers of the massif's northern slope lost 11% of their area between 1962 and 2002, and another 12% in 2002–2009. Special protected areas have been designated in all three nations sharing
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#1732765855467192-476: The outside world by heavy-going dirt roads through the Ukok ( Russia-Kazakhstan border ), Ulan-Daba ( Russia-Mongolia border ), Teplyi kluch and Kalgutinsky passes. The Teplyi kluch pass is at an altitude of 2,907 m (9,537 ft). One may get to these passes from Kosh-Agach village, which is easily reachable owing to a relatively improved M52 highway (the so-called Chuysky tract). Southward, beyond Kosh-Agach,
208-496: The plateau. The highest peak on the plateau is the mountain knot of Tavan-Bogdo-Ula (Five Sacred Peaks) where the highest mountain is Khüiten Peak that reaches 4,374 m (14,350 ft) above sea level. This is the second highest peak in Siberia after Belukha Mountain. The present-day eastern Altai-Sayan region areas of Ukok-Sailiugem could be considered the closest analogy to the ancient mammoth steppe environment. Pazyryk
224-573: The tripoint is called Nairamdal Peak , but this is not confirmed either by official agreements or by maps. Some other peaks of the Tavan Bogd massif are located on the China–Mongolia border or the Mongolia–Russia border . In particular, the massif tallest point, the Khüiten Peak , is located on the China–Mongolia border, about 2.5 km south of the tripoint. In the past, it was known as
240-565: The way becomes impassable for common means of transport and passable only for off-road vehicles . However, even they could become stuck in swamp mud in the Kalguty river valley , especially after a sunny day when frozen soil begins thawing. For most of the year the passes are snow-covered and avalanche-prone. During the short summer season all the slopes are prone to solifluction . Tavan Bogd The Five Saints , known in Mongolian as
256-475: The west. The term kurgan is in general usage to describe such log-barrow burials. Excavations of this site have continued to yield notable archaeological finds. One famous finding is known as the Ice Maiden , excavated by Russian archaeologist Natalia Polosmak . At least six tattooed mummies dating from the period ca. (c. 2600 BC - AD 402) have been recovered preserved by the permafrost in tombs at sites on
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