PHYSICAL - GEOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ALTAI REGION

Abstract

The Altai Mountains are characterized by their unique natural scenery and numerous cultural archeological monuments. The interests in biodiversity conservation and sustainable development of at least four countries, i.e. China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia, are focused on that region. Whereas the contiguous territories of the four countries are similar in their demographic structure, ethnic composition, climatic conditions and socio-economic characteristics, they differ in terms of people’s philosophy, legal frameworks, institutional structures, economic situation and activities in nature protection. The Altai Mountains are situated in the center of Eurasia at the frontier of two major natural zones of the northern hemisphere, i.e. the humid boreal and the arid desert-steppe zone. The mountain system forms the most elevated part of the North-Asian continental watershed separating the river runoffs of the Arctic Ocean basin and the Central-Asian internal drainage basins. The Altai is characterized by complicated geological and relief structures, various landscapes from taiga to deserts as well as diverse vegetation and wildlife. The Altai Mountains form an entire geographical system, which can be subdivided into the Siberian, the Mongolian and the Gobi Altai. The study is focused on the Siberian and the Mongolian Altai. In the northwest, the Altai borders on the South-Siberian steppes, in the north the Zhoria Mountains connect the Altai with the Kuznetsk Alatau, in the northeast the Tuva basin is located between the Altai and the Sayan mountains. In the southwest of the Altai there are the Kazakh lowlands and the Irtysh River with the Zaysan Lake, which is the border to the Tarbagatai Mountains. In the south, the Altai passes into the Dzhungaria and the Gobi desert and in the east it passes into the Big Lakes Lowlands and the steppes of the Outer Mongolia. The Central-Altai forms a huge rock massif of 4000 m height. The mountain ridges spread into west, northwest and north direction originating from the Tabyn-Bogdo-Ola massif in the central mountain area. The relief is dominated by typical alpine formations such as hillside peaks, sharp crests and deep glacial cirques. The Altai are old folded mountains. The current mountain scenery was formed in the Tertiary (Miocene, Pliocene), when the Altai was lifted again as a whole block. Thus, diverse sedimentary, abyssal and metamorphic rocks from paleozoic era to Holocene could develope. The oldest strata are from Upper paleozoic era, Cambrian and Ordovician age. Rocks from Devonian, Carbon and lower Perm age are only locally spread. The sediments of Tertiary