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 ALTAI

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is worked chiefly for lime-burning. Area of parish (under a great winding before it pierces through the Katun Alps, a rural district council), 36,968 acres; population (1881), when it enters a wider valley, lying at an altitude of from 4621 ; (1891), 3384; (1901), 3133. 2000 to 3500 feet, which it follows until it emerges from the Altai highlands to join the Biya and to form the Ob Altai, the name given to an extensive region of by their confluence in a most picturesque region. The Southern West Siberia, composed of many mountain next valley is that of the Charysh, which has the Korgon ranges and broad, fertile valleys, similar in character to, and Tigeretsk Alps on one side and the Talitsk and but covering an area nearly three times larger than, Bashalatsk Alps on the other side. It is again very Switzerland (52,500 square miles). It is watered by the fertile, and is well peopled with Russian peasant imupper tributaries of the Ob—Biya, Katun, Charysh, and migrants in its lower parts. The Altai, seen from this partly Tom, as also the Upper Irtysh. It has a quad- valley, presents the most romantic scenes, including the rangular shape, and is bounded on the S.W. by the small but deep Kolyvail lake (altitude, 1180 feet), deBlack (Chornyi) Irtysh, on the S.E. by the high plateau of scribed by so many geographers, surrounded by fantasticnorth-western Mongolia, on the N.E. by the government of ally-shaped granitic domes and towers. Farther west the Yeniseisk, parts of which belong to or merge into the valleys of the Uba, the Ulba, and the Bukhtarma open Altai, and on the N.W. by the lowlands of Tomsk, south-westwards towards the Irtysh. The lower part of strewn with many lakes and watered by the Ob. The the first is thickly populated; in the often - described name of Altai—Ektagh Altai, or Southern Altai, or valley of the Ulba is the Riddersk mine, at the foot of the Chinese Altai, and Altain-nauru—is also given to a 6770 feet high Ivanovsk peak, covered with beautiful mountain range which separates the drainage area of alpine meadows. As to the valley of the Bukhtarma, Lake Kobdo from that of the Black Irtysh and its former which has a length of 200 miles, it also has its origin at tributary, the Ulungur. This range borders on the N.— the foot of the Byelukha and the Kuitun peaks, and as it as the Eastern Tian-Shan borders on the S.—the great falls from the 6195 feet high level of an alpine plateau to and broad Dzungarian trench, excavated in a north-west the Bukhtarma fortress (1130 feet) it offers the most to south-east direction in the High Plateau of East Asia, striking contrasts of landscapes and vegetation. Its and leads with a gentle gradient from the lowlands of upper parts are rich in glaciers, the best known of which Lake Balkhash to the high level of the plateau. is the Berel, which flows from the double peak of the The highest parts of the Altai region are along the Byelukha. On the northern side of the mountain range border of the Mongolian plateau, where in all probability which separates the upper Bukhtarma from the upper we have a border-ridge similar to the Western Sayan, Katun one finds the Katun glacier, which, after two which might be named the Sailughem range. Its south- ice-falls, becomes from 700 to 900 yards wide, and is often eastern slope is short and gentle for the most part, described as the Altai Mer de Glace, while the Byelukha is as it leads to the 4000 - 5000 feet high plateau, upon described as the Altai Mont Blanc. From a grotto in this which rise the tributaries of the Kemchik (Yenisei) at glacier wildly runs the Katun. The middle and lower a great altitude, and the lakes LTbsa-nor and Kobdo parts of the Bukhtarma valley have been colonized since are situated. Several small plateaus, such as the Ukok the 18th century by Russian peasant runaways—serfs (7800 feet), Chuya (6000 feet), Kendykty (8200 feet), and nonconformists—who had created there a free reand Juvlukul (7900 feet) plateaus, situated along a public on Chinese territory; and after 1869, when this common axis running south-west to north-east, enter part of the valley was annexed to Russia, it was rapidly into the composition of that mountain range. There is colonized, on account of the fertility of the wide prairies no tree vegetation on these heights; only the dwarf in its lower portion. North-East Altai.—The north-eastern Altai is much birch (j5. nana) stands the cold, and the Arctomys bobac makes his furrows in the frozen mud. Easy less known. High passes, of difficult access and over passages lead from these alpine lands to the high plateau 10,000 feet of altitude, lead from it across the Sailughem of Mongolia, but the slopes directed towards the Altai to the Mongolian plateau; but they are seldom visited rivers are extremely steep and very difficult of access. unless by Kirghiz shepherds. The high valleys of this The snow-line lies here at an altitude of about 9000 portion of the Altai—Bashkaus, Chulyshman, and Chulcha, feet, and many summits rise above that level, especi- all three leading to the beautiful alpine lake Teletskoye ally the Byelukha (the Mont Blanc of the Altai), whose (length, 117 miles; maximum width, 4 miles; altitude, two summits reach 14,800 and 14,500 feet respectively, 1600 feet) are only inhabited by nomad Telenguts. and give origin to six large and several small glaciers (30 Even the shores of the lake—reminding one of the Lake of square miles aggregate area). The Kuitun, 12,000 feet, the Four Cantons—are too wild to receive a numerous and several other high peaks belong to the same range. population. From this lake issues the Biya, which Several chains of mountains fill up the space between the becomes navigable only after it emerges from the mounSailughem and the lowlands of Tomsk, but their mutual tains, i.e., at Biysk. Sixty miles below this town it joins relations are yet far from being well known, and they are the Katun, and here begin the beautiful prairies in the mostly described under local names. Such are the Chuya north-west of the Altai. Kuznetsk District.—Farther to the north-east the Alps (Chuiskiye Byelki), having an average altitude of 9000 feet, with summits rising from 11,400 to 12,000 Altai highlands are continued in the Kuznetsk district, feet, and giving origin to at least ten glaciers on their which has a slightly different geological aspect, but still northern slope; the Katun Alps (Katunskiye Stolby); belongs to the Altai system. At the south-east limits of the Kholzun range; the range which is known locally this district the Sayan range (from 6000 to 8000 feet, or under the names of Korgon (Korgonskiye Byelki, 6300 to more) appears as a continuation of the Sailughem, and has 7600 feet), Talitsk, and Selitsk ranges; the Tigeretsk the same border-ridge character. But the Abakan river, Alps, and so on. Several secondary plateaus of lower which rises on its north-western slope, belongs to the system of the Yenisei. The Kuznetsk Alatau range, on the left altitude are also distinguished by geographers. The picturesque and fertile valleys of the Altai, sur- bank of the Abakan, runs north-east into the province rounded as they are by majestic alps, are, of course, better of Yeniseisk, while a com plexus of imperfectly mapped known. The Katun valley begins as a wild gorge on the mountains (Chukchut, Salairsk, Abakan, &c.) fills up the south-west slope of the Byelukha peak; then the river makes western portions of this territory. The Tom and its S. L —43