Nature of Gorny Altai is diverse and unique. There are hollows with semi-desert landscapes, Alpine peaks, narrow river canyons and broad valleys, highland tundra landscapes and deep natural staffs in the thickness of limestone, cereal steppes and eternal snow and glaciers, stony placers and tracts of forest. Natural zones of the Republic build up a many-storeyed world of mountain landscape.
The Altai Mountains cover the territory of the Altai Republic; altitude and zonal landscape types clearly expressed. These types are characterized by certain correlation of heat and moisture, expressed in humidification factor and aridity radiation index; its landscape peculiarities, biological turnover of air migrants (carbon, oxygen, hydrogen) and in most cases by a certain soil and vegetation types.
The height of some mountain peaks is over 3-4 thousand m, with the highest - Belukha Mountain (Ak-Syumer) - 4506 m, situated in the extreme south of the Republic.
Forests cover more than a half of the mountain territory. o要e third of the territory of the Altai Republic is occupied by highlands (tundra, Alpine and sub-Alpine grasslands).
In the mountains of South-Eastern Altai, there are such altitude and zonal landscape types, as tundro-steppes, not found in other climatic zones.
Soil and vegetation cover
Distribution of soil and vegetation of Gorny Altai is subjected to the laws of altitude zonality. All landscapes are grouped into 4 vertical zones: steppe, forest, Alpine and leveling. These landscapes are distributed according to local conditions. The zonal borders o要 the northern slopes are lower than o要 the southern o要es.
The steppe zone is subdivided into 2 types - mountain steppes and high-mountain steppes. Mountain steppes may be observed as separate areas in the valleys of the middle reaches of the rivers Katun, Yaloman and others; in intermountain hollows (Uimonskaya, Abaiskaya, Tenginskaya, Kanskaya, Ursulskaya) at the height of 800-1200m. Cereal vegetation (feather-grass, lychnis, etc.) reigns here o要 common and southern black soil.
High-mountain steppes occur in south-eastern part of Altai, at the height of 1500-2200 m. These are characteristic of Kuraiskiye and Tchuiskiye intermountain hollows, for valleys of the rivers Bashkaus, and Tchulyshman, Alpine plateau Ukok. Brown and auburn carbonate soils, as well as saline lands are formed under the considerably rarefact steppe cover. Lakeside vegetation in Tchuiskaya hollow consists of: pebble-feather grass, desert Kachim, sedge, tea thickets.
Forest tract takes the largest part of Gorny Altai. In the North forests stretch from the foot of the mountains, in the West - at the height of 400-600 km. Higher forest border in the western and north-western parts of Gorny Altai is situated at the height of 1700-1800 m, while in the central part - at 2200 m, in the south and in the east - at 2300-2400 m, in the Tchuiskiye Belki - at 2300-2465m.
Gorny Altai forests are quite diverse. Coniferous trees prevail: Siberian larch, cedar, fir, spruce, pine. The most widely distributed sort of wood in the Altai Republic is larch. Deciduous wood species are of minor importance in Gorny Altai: birch, aspen, poplar, rowan-tree (mountain ash), guelder-rose (snowball tree), bog whortleberry (great bilberry), cowberry (mountain cranberry), etc. may be come across in the forests tracts. Various mountain and taiga soils, podzol soil are developed under the forest cover.
Gorny Altai high-mountain zone occupies the heights of 2000-2400m (up to 2800-3000m). It is subdivided into the lower - sub-Alpine, and the higher-Alpine zones. Sub-Alpine grasslands zone starts with Alpine bushes, dwarf birch, willow-beds, honeysuckle, rocky currant, and sub-Alpine meadows, the latter reaching 1m height and being presented by couch-grass, pats, etc. turf and podzol soils are formed under sub-Alpine meadows.
Pansy, poppy, buttercups, gentiana and others are found in the Alpine zone o要 mountain and grassland soils with the expressed turf level and considerable humus content.
Mountain tundra, occupying much larger territories than grasslands, is situated o要 the border o要 eternal snows and glaciers. Alternation of detritus or stony soils, boggy areas, glacier lakes, vast fields, placers and river valleys is characteristic for tundra.
Tundras are subdivided into 3 types: moss and lichen, detritus and lichen, and stony. Moss and lichen tundras are characteristic of the western and central parts of Gorny Altai. Detritus and lichen o要es are found in drier places and are widespread in the eastern regions. Stony placers are covered with lichen here. Stony tundras are the highest.
