Altai Mountains facts for kids

This article is about Altai (disambiguation)|Altai. For other uses, see Altai Mountains (disambiguation).

Map of the Altai mountain range

The Altai Mountains are a large mountain range in the middle of Asia. They are found where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan meet. Important rivers like the Irtysh and Ob start here. The Altai Mountains connect with the Sayan Mountains in the northeast and slowly get lower towards the Gobi Desert in the southeast. They stretch across a huge area, from about 45° to 52° North and 84° to 99° East.

Not many people live in this region, but those who do come from many different backgrounds. These include Russians, Kazakhs, Altais, Mongols, and Volga Germans. Many of the local people are indigenous (native) groups who are semi-nomadic, meaning they move around with their animals. The main ways people make a living here are by raising animals like cows, sheep, and horses, as well as hunting, farming, logging, and mining. The group of languages called Altaic gets its name from these mountains.

ᠠᠯᠲᠠᠢ
‍᠊ᠢᠢᠨ
ᠨᠢᠷᠤᠭᠤ

Name in
Mongolian
language and script,
altai-yin niruɣu

What does "Altai" mean?
Exploring the Altai Mountains
Animals of the Altai
History of the Altai
World Heritage Site
Geology of the Mountains
- Earthquakes in Altai
See Also

What does "Altai" mean?

The name Altai comes from an old word that means "gold" or "golden." For example, in Old Turkic language, the word for gold was altun. This shows how important gold might have been in the region long ago.

The mountains have different names in various languages spoken nearby:

In Khalkha Mongolian, they are called Altain nuruu (Алтайн нуруу).
In Altay language, they are Altay tuular (Алтай туулар).
In Kazakh, they are Altay tawları (Алтай таулары).
In Russian, they are Altayskiye gory (Алтайские горы).
In Chinese, they are ā'ěrtài shānmài (阿尔泰山脉).

Exploring the Altai Mountains

The Altai Mountains are a system of remote mountains in central Asia. They cover a huge area of about 845,000 square kilometers. The mountains stretch for about 2,525 kilometers from northwest to southeast.

Lake Kucherla in the Altai Mountains

Belukha mountain

Belukha—the highest mountain in Altay

Altay Mountains, Kazakhstan

Shavlo Lake in Northern Chuysky Range.

In the northern part of the region, you'll find the Sailughem Mountains. These mountains have an average height of 1,500 to 1,750 meters. The snow-line (where snow stays all year) is around 2,000 meters on the northern side and 2,400 meters on the southern side. Above this line, the rugged peaks rise even higher, sometimes 1,000 meters more. It's hard to cross these mountains, with only a few difficult passes like the Ulan-daban (2,827 meters) and the Chapchan-daban (3,217 meters).

To the east and southeast, the Sailughem Mountains meet the large plateau of Mongolia. This transition happens slowly through smaller plateaus like Ukok (2,380 meters) and Chuya (1,830 meters). This area also has many large lakes, such as Uvs (720 meters above sea level) and Khar (1,170 meters).

The highest peak in the Altai Mountains is the double-headed Belukha. Its two summits reach 4,506 and 4,440 meters high. Several glaciers start from Belukha, covering about 30 square kilometers. Local people call it Kadyn Bazhy or Uch-Sumer. The second highest peak is Khüiten Peak in Mongolia, which is 4,374 meters tall. Many smaller mountain ranges branch off from the Sailughem mountains, filling the area towards the lowlands of Tomsk.

The Katun Valley starts as a wild gorge on the side of Belukha. The Katun River (600 km long) then flows through a wider valley, joining the Biya to form the famous Ob. Another important valley is the Charysh, which is very fertile.

Further west, the valleys of the Uba, Ulba, and Bukhtarma rivers open up towards the Irtysh river. The lower parts of these valleys are well-populated. The Bukhtarma valley is 320 km long and starts near Belukha. It drops about 1,500 meters over 300 km, showing amazing changes in landscape and plants. Its upper parts have many glaciers, like the Berel glacier from Belukha.

The middle and lower parts of the Bukhtarma valley were settled in the 1700s by Russian peasants who ran away from their landlords. They created a free community there. After Russia took over this area in 1869, more people moved in quickly.

Further north, the Altai highlands continue into the Kuznetsk district. This area is part of the Altai system, even though its geology is a bit different.

Here are the five highest mountains in the Altai:

Belukha, 4,506 meters, Russia
Khüiten Peak, 4,374 meters, Mongolia
Mönkh Khairkhan, 4,204 meters, Mongolia
Sutai Mountain, 4,220 meters, Mongolia
Tsambagarav, 4,195 meters, Mongolia

Animals of the Altai

Skull of a Siberian ibex, found near the Belukha

Wisent herd at a nursery in the Russian Altai

The Altai Mountains are home to many different animals because they have various habitats, like grassy steppes, northern forests (taigas), and high mountain plants.

Mountain Goats and Sheep: Steep slopes are home to the Siberian ibex, a type of wild goat. The rare argali, a large wild sheep, lives on more gentle slopes.
Deer: Five types of deer live here: the Altai wapiti, moose, forest reindeer, Siberian musk deer, and Siberian roe deer. Moose and reindeer are mostly found in the northern parts.
Other Animals: The wild boar lives in the lower hills. Until recently, the Mongolian gazelle was found near the Mongolian border.
Predators: Large predators include snow leopards, wolves, lynx, and brown bears. The wolverine also lives in the northern parts. The Tien Shan dhole, a type of wild dog, is also found here. Most animal species in this region originally came from Mongolia.
Birds: The western Siberian eagle-owl can be found in the western mountains.
Historical Animals: In the past, the Caspian tiger lived in the southern Altai Mountains. The wisent (a European bison) was also present until the Middle Ages. Today, a small herd of wisents lives in a special nursery in the Altai Republic.
Amphibians: Moor frogs can be found near water bodies as high as 2,000 meters in the Altai mountains.

History of the Altai

The Altai Mountains have had a very stable climate, meaning it hasn't changed much since the last ice age. Because of this, many of the mammals that lived here during the ice age are still found here today.

The Altai Mountains were once home to a group of ancient humans called Denisovans. These early humans lived at the same time as Neanderthals and Homo sapiens (modern humans). In 2008, a Denisovan bone was found in the Denisova Cave in southern Siberia, dating back about 40,000 years. We know about Denisovans mostly from their DNA and tools, as no full skeletons have been found yet. Their DNA was very well preserved because of the cold temperatures in the caves. Interestingly, bones of Neanderthals and tools made by Homo sapiens have also been found in Denisova Cave. This makes it the only place in the world where all three types of ancient humans are known to have lived!

A very old dog-like animal, from 33,000 years ago, was found in the Razboinichya Cave. DNA tests showed that it was more closely related to modern dogs than to wolves.

Some historians think that the Altai mountain region might be where skiing began. Evidence for this includes ancient rock carvings (petroglyphs) in the Altai Mountains in China. These carvings show human figures on skis chasing an ibex. A study in 2016 suggested these rock carvings could be between 4,000 and 5,250 years old. This means they might be as old as, or even older than, ancient skiing art found in Scandinavia. However, it's very hard to accurately date petroglyphs. The oldest written record describing skiing is from a Chinese text from the Western Han dynasty (206 BC to 24 AD), which talks about skiers in the Altai Mountains.

World Heritage Site

Lake Teletskoye

Natural Park of Belukha

A huge area of the Altai Mountains, covering 16,178 square kilometers, is a World Heritage Site recognized by UNESCO. This area is called the Golden Mountains of Altai. It includes the Altai and Katun Natural Reserves, Lake Teletskoye, Mount Belukha, and the Ukok Plateau.

UNESCO chose this site because it has the most complete set of different plant zones in central Siberia. These zones range from steppes (grassy plains) to forests, and then to subalpine and alpine plants found high in the mountains. The site is also very important for protecting endangered mammals like the snow leopard and the Altai argali (a type of wild sheep). The Siberian ibex also lives here.

Geology of the Mountains

The Altai Mountains in Siberia are the northernmost area affected by the huge collision of the Indian and Asian landmasses. This collision created massive fault systems (cracks in the Earth's crust) that run through the area. These faults are often active, meaning they can cause earthquakes. The rocks in the mountains are mostly granites and metamorphic schists, which are types of rock that have been changed by heat and pressure.

Geologist Victor R. Baker has found evidence of huge floods in the Altai Mountains in the past. These floods came from an even larger glacial lake than Lake Missoula, which was once thought to be the biggest ice-dammed lake in the world.

Earthquakes in Altai

While earthquakes are not very common here, a very large one happened on September 27, 2003. This earthquake, measuring 7.3 on the Moment magnitude scale, occurred in the Chuya Basin area south of the Altai region. This earthquake and its smaller aftershocks caused a lot of damage and destroyed the village of Beltir.