Golden Mountains of Altai

Golden Mountains of Altai*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	Russian Federation
Type	Natural
Criteria	x
Reference	768
Region**	Europe
Inscription history
Inscription	1998  (22nd Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO.

The Altai Mountains are a mountain system or of Central Asia that extends approximately 1,200 miles (2,000 km) in a southeast-northwest direction from the Gobi Desert to the West Siberian Plain, through Chinese, Mongolian, Russian, and Kazak territory, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together, and where the great rivers Irtysh, Ob and Yenisei have their sources.

A vast area of Altai - 6245.2 square miles (16,175 km²) - has been protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Site area includes the Altai and Katun Natural Reserves, Lake Teletskoye, Mount Belukha and the Ukok Plateau. As stated in the UNESCO description of the site, "the region represents the most complete sequence of altitudinal vegetation zones in central Siberia, from steppe, forest-steppe, mixed forest, subalpine vegetation to alpine vegetation."

While making its decision, UNESCO also cited Russian Altai's importance for preservation of globally endangered mammals, such as the snow leopard and the Altai argali, the world's largest breed of wild sheep.

Lake Teletskoye

Lake Teletskoye

Lake Teletskoye, literally "Golden Lake", is the largest lake in the Altai Mountains and within the Altai Republic. It is one of 25 deepest lakes in the world, having a depth of up to 1066 feet (325 meters).

Situated at a height of 1,424 feet (434 m) above sea level, the lake is 48 miles (78 km) long and three miles (five km) wide and lies between the mountain ridges Korbu and Al-tyntu, on the junction of Sailughem Mountains and Western Sayans. Its surface area is 90 square miles (233 sq km); however, due to its considerable depth (1,066 ft - 325 m), the lake contains no less than 15 square miles (40 sq km) of fresh water. Annual water level fluctuations are estimated at some 348 sm. The lake transparency is high, with the visibility of the lake water ranging from six to fourteen meters.

About 70 rivers and 150 temporary streams flow into the lake, the largest of them, Chulyshman River, supplying more than half of the lake's water. The lake is drained through a single outlet, the Biya River, which, after its confluence with the Katun River, forms one of Siberia's largest rivers, the Ob River.

The lake is surrounded by mountains of 1968 - 4265 feet (600-1,300 m) in the northern section and about 5,578 - 7,874 feet (1,700-2,400 m) in the southern part. Lake Teletskoe is included in the Altai State Nature Reserve.

Mount Belukha

Belukha Mountain, 2001.

Belukha Mountain (Russian: Белуха; Altai: Muztau), located in the Katun Mountains, is the highest peak of the Altai Mountains in Russia.

Belukha is a twin-peaked mountain massif that rises along the border of Russia and Kazakhstan, just north of the point where these two borders meet those of China and Mongolia. There are several small glaciers on the mountain. Of the two peaks, the eastern peak (4,506 m, 14,784 ft.) is higher than the western peak (4,440 m, 14,567 ft.). Some 27 square miles (70 square km) of Belukha's surface is glacier-covered. The mountain lies in a region of year-round snows.

Belukha was first climbed in 1914 by the Tronov brothers. Most ascents of the eastern peak follow the same southern route as that taken in the first ascent. Though the Altai is lower in elevation than other Asian mountain groups, it is very remote, and much time and planning are required for its approach.

Ukok Plateau

Ukok Plateau

Ukok Plateau is a remote and pristine grasslands area located in the heart of southwestern Siberia, the Altai Mountains region of Russia near the borders with China, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. The Pazyryk is the name of an ancient people who lived in the Altai Mountains on this plateau, and 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 the west. The term kurgan is in general usage to describe such log-barrow burials. Excavations of this site have continued to yield fascinating archaeological findings.

One of the most well-known of the discoveries in the Ukok Plateau region is the "Ice Princess" excavated by Russian archaeologist, Natalia Polosmak. Three tattooed mummies (c. 300 B.C.E.) were extracted from the permafrost of the Ukok Plateau in the second half of the 20th century. The Ice Maiden and other archaeological finds were located within a disputed strip of land between Russia and China. The Ice Princess is now being stored in Novosibirsk (Russia's third largest city). The indigenous population of Altai have demanded a return of these artifacts to the Ukok, and decrying the "desecration of the Altain sacred place".

Ukok Plateau Artifacts

• 

  Ice Princess mummy

• 

  Horseman, Pazyryk felt artifact, c.300 B.C.E.

• 

  Pazyryk carpet, 5th century B.C.E.

It 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.

Southern bank of Lake Teletskoye

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Altai Republic. Altai Reserve Retrieved July 21, 2008.
• Earth Island Institute. Golden Mountains, Altai Republic, Russia Retrieved July 21, 2008.
• Pacific Environment. Greater Altai – Altai Krai, Republic of Altai, Tyva (Tuva), and Novosibirsk Retrieved July 21, 2008.
• Rudenko, S.I. Kul'tura naseleniia Gornogo Altaia v skifskoe vremia. 1970. ("The Population of the High Altai in Scythian Times")(Moscow and Leningrad, 1953) translated as Frozen Tombs of Siberia: The Pazyryk Burials of Iron Age Horsemen, M.W. Thompson, tr. (University of California Press, Berkeley) ISBN 0520013956

External links

All Links Retrieved July 21, 2008.

• Gas pipeline route in south Siberia to be approved in August (2006)
• A collection at Novosibirsk State University site, including Pazyryk
• Location map
• Golden Mountains of Altai Natural Heritage Protection Fund

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