- Sayan Mountains
The Sayan Mountains ( _ru. Саяны, "Sayany"; "Kokmen Mountains" during the period of the
Göktürks [Bartold, V. V. (1935) "12 Vorlesungen uber die Geschichte der Turken Mittelasiens" Deutsche Gesellschaft für Islamkunde, Berlin, p.46, [http://worldcat.org/oclc/3673071 OCLC 3673071] ] ) are amountain range in southernSiberia ,Russia .The Eastern Sayan extends 1000 km from the
Yenisey River at 92° E to the southwest end ofLake Baikal at 106° E. The Western Sayan forms the eastern continuation of theAltay Mountains , stretching for 500 km from 89° E to the middle of the Eastern Sayan at 96° E. [cite web
url=http://columbia.thefreedictionary.com/Sayan%20Mountains
title=Sayan Mountains
publisher=
accessdate=2006-12-25 ]The Sayan Mountains' towering peaks and cool lakes southwest of
Tuva give rise to thetributaries that merge to become one of Siberia's major rivers, theYenisei River , which flows north over 2000 miles to theArctic Ocean . This is a protected and isolated area, having been kept closed by theSoviet Union since 1944. [cite web
url=http://www.geographicbureau.com/Siberia/Tuva/sayan_mountains.htm
title=Tuva and Sayan Mountains
publisher=Geographic Bureau - Siberia and Pacific
accessdate=2006-10-26 ]Geography
While the general elevation is 2000 to 2700 m, some of the individual peaks, consisting largely of
granite s andmetamorphic slate s reach altitudes of over 3000 m, with the highest beingMunku-Sardyk at 3492 m. The principalmountain pass es lie 1800 to 2300 m above the sea, for example Muztagh pass at 2280 m, Mongol pass at 1980 m, Tenghyz pass at 2280 m and Obo-sarym pass at 1860 m.At 92°E the system (the Western Sayan) is pierced by the Ulug-Khem ( _ru. Улуг-Хем) or Upper
Yenisei River , and at 106°, at its eastern extremity, it terminates above the depression of theSelenga -Orkhon Valley . From theMongolian plateau the ascent is on the whole gentle, but from the plains of Siberia it is much steeper, despite the fact that the range is masked by a broad belt of subsidiary ranges of an Alpine character, e.g. the Usinsk, Oya, Tunka, Kitoi and Belaya ranges.Between the breach of the Yenisei and
Lake Khövsgöl at 100° 30' E. the system bears also the name of Yerghik-taiga. The flora is on the whole poor, although the higher regions carry good forests oflarch ,pine ,juniper ,birch , andalder , withrhododendron s and species of "Berberis " and "Ribes ". Lichens and mosses clothe many of the boulders that are scattered over the upper slopes.Notes
References
*1911
See also
*
Mana River
*Abakan River
*Minusinsk Depression
*Tuva Depression External links
* [http://www.ewpnet.com/tuvados.htm Tuva -Sayan Mountains]
* [http://www.geographicbureau.com/Siberia/Tuva/sayan_mountains.htm Tuva and Sayan Mountains]
* [http://www.pbase.com/dimitrisokolenko/image/33960726 Photo of Sayan Mountains]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
