Justification for Inscription Criteria x : The Altai region represents an important and original centre of biodiversity of montane plant and animal species in northern Asia, a number of which are rare and endemic. News 2. Events 2. Russian Federation. WebGL must be enable, see documentation.
Media News Events Links. State of Conservation SOC by year Donate Now. Extended 44 th session of the World Heritage Committee. The Altai formation is still ongoing. The evidence of this is the earthquake and the underground tremors after it. As a result, the southern ridges are rising by an average of one and a half to two centimetres per year. At the same time, there are no active volcanoes in the Altai there are only ancient ones of different ages. The main source of geological events in the Altai is the collision of the Indian Peninsula with the Eurasian continent.
Due to the huge impact of the great Asiatic anticyclones, or high-pressure area, the regional climate is severely continental. The winter is long and bitterly cold. Long periods of low temperatures ensure some occasional tracts of the permafrost, just like in more northern Siberia it is the ground that has a temperature below freezing for two or more years. In the west, particularly at elevations between 1, and 2, metres, precipitation is high: to 1, mm 20 to 40 inches and as much as 2, mm 80 inches may fall throughout the year.
The precipitation total decreases to one-third that amount if you move farther east, and some areas have no snow at all. Some 1, glaciers cover the flanks of the highest peaks. They cover an area of roughly sq. Complex geological history has determined the diversity of minerals found in the Altai Territory.
Among them are gold, mercury, iron, manganese ores, etc. Academician A. Fersman, who visited the Altai in together with academician V. According to archaeologists, gold mining was conducted here in the third millennium BC.
Traces of gold mining in the form of dumps in the floodplains of the Swan, Biya, Sadra, Charysh rivers have been well preserved to the modern day. In those gold-bearing sediments there were found large nuggets weighing up to kg. There are also manifestations of alluvial gold found in the Anui, Pyzha, Koksa and other rivers. The known deposit of mercury near Aktash settlement was a base for development of the Aktashsky metallurgical plant.
A simplified mapping of the Altai complex system of ridges with a great abundance of spurs of different heights and lengths is usually presented as follows. The highest peak is on the Mongolian territory, whereas the main mass of the Altai Mountain Range is in Russia. Ridges diverge from this colossal complex in a circle. All of them have a similar feature — their slopes lack symmetry, from the north-west they are steep, and in the south and south-west, the outline is very gentle.
Another Altai range shared by the countries is the Chikhachev Ridge located in the southeast of the Altai Mountains. The border between the Republic of Altai and the Republic of Tyva and the state border between the Russian Federation and Mongolia pass through the ridge. On the Russian territory , there are over 30 ridges in the Altai mountains with an average height from to meters. The north-western ones are lower and those lying in the south-east are higher.
In Kazakhstan , the main ridges are:. In Mongolia , the Mongolian Altai is the largest mountain system in the country. It stretches south-east and consists of mountains with an average elevation of 3,,meters. The highest points are Mt. Khuiten 4,m, this peak is shared by Mongolia and China as the state border runs along its summit , Nairamdal 4,m, the name means friendship, it is located where Russian, Chinese and Mongolian borders meet , Malchin 4, m, Herder , Burged Eagle , and Ulgii Land.
Belukha 4,m is the highest peak of the Altai Mountains and the highest peak of Siberia. Geographically, this mountain is about the same distance from the Arctic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The top of Mount Belukha is always covered with snow and ice, thus the name — white mountain. It has two summits, the Eastern and the Western, the former being a bit higher than the latter. In , two paragliders started synchronously from the Eastern summit 4,m.
Travelling by air is undoubtedly faster, but skier Dmitry Shchitov took up the challenge in and went downhill from the very top of Belukha in about 2 hours. Belukha is not a mountaineer-friendly mountain due to harsh weather conditions and the typically low atmospheric pressure, which at the top of the mountain is about half the normal.
Moreover, the rocks on the slopes of Belukha are covered with a thin layer of leaky ice all year round, which makes them incredibly slippery. To add to the trouble, Belukha is located on a tectonic crease that generates earthquakes on a regular basis.
A famous Russia n painter Nicholas Roerich made Belukha the star of several of his paintings. The mountain is considered sacred both by Buddhists and Altai shamanists. It is considered to be one of the entrances to the mystical land of Shambala and the mysterious Belovodye White Water Area. Modern esotericists and Roerich's followers consider the mountain a place of power and information pyramid that is receiving messages and energy from space.
The Altai people have many prohibitions associated with the sacred mountain. It is forbidden to make noise and loud sounds on the slopes of Belukha.
Also, iron objects cannot be brought here, and hunting is not allowed in these places. As in many other sacred places in the Altai, women are not allowed to enter the lands of Belukha Mountain. Once upon a time, there used to be a legend among the locals that everyone who dared to climb the top of Belukha , would go blind.
It has a scientific justification as well — without special glasses the glow of light reflected from snow and ice can really damage the retina and impair vision.
The highest point of the massif is Mount Khuiten 4, m , located on the Mongolian-Chinese border and is the highest point of Mongolia. The mountain is sacred to all surrounding peoples, approximately until it was considered to be the highest point of the Altai it is only m below Belukha Mountain. The other four oval-shaped snowy peaks of Tabyn Bogdo-Ola, with a height of about m, are clearly visible from the Warm Key Pass, from here they seem particularly majestic.
In view of the difficult accessibility of this peak covered with eternal snow, the bordering states agreed not to place a border mark on it.
The northern slope of the massif abruptly breaks off to the Ukok plateau, to the east of which lies the Sailugem Ridge. The glaciers of the Tabyn-Bogd Ola massif are the largest in the Altai. The meadows in the Alpine region are used for pasture during the summer. Wildlife is abundant in this region. There are species of small birds, like woodpeckers, and 20 species of fish.
Big mammals like bears, lynx, and musk deer are found mostly in the forest. In the Alpine region live reindeer, mountain goats, rams, and even rare animals like snow leopards. Some areas in the mountains are inaccessible to locals and visitors because they are used to study rare species of animals and plants.
The Altai Mountains are populated by mostly Altais and Russian settlers, many of whom moved there in the 19th century, mainly to escape religious persecution. The native population that was there before the 19th century continues to live in the old ways and is somewhat isolated from civilization.
One of the most beautiful lakes is Teletskoye Lake. It is the largest in the Altai Republic, 80 km long and 5 km wide with a maximum depth of meters. The mountain lakes of the territory keep enormous reserves of the purest fresh water. The flora of the Altai region comprises of more than species with a great number of relict and endemic plants. The richness of the endemic species exists due to the variety of landscape which have formed isolated areals. Several distinct vegetation zones can be discerned in the Siberian Altai: meters — a belt of mountainous steppes, meters — mountainous taiga, meters Alpine lands, higher — subnival and nival zones.
The Russian Altai is also a habitat for over species of birds including the tawny and imperial eagle, black eared kite, falcon, demoiselle crane and saker falcon. It means vast contrasts between warm and rainy summers June—August and long cold winters November—March with little snow in the valleys and frequent temperature inversions with lots of snow high in the mountains.
Variety of landscapes and climate of the Altai region makes it possible to do almost all kinds of outdoor sports: trekking, backpacking, pass hopping, climbing, light river rafting, kayaking and mountaineering.
Different kinds of tours are organized every summer. Adventure, jeep, horse, rafting — or any combination of these are available for you. Altai Info.
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