South Central Siberia

South Central Siberia is a geographical region north of the point where Russia, China, Kazakhstan and Mongolia come together.

The Four Corners

At approximately 49°8′8″N 87°33′46″E / 49.13556°N 87.56278°E / 49.13556; 87.56278, the borders of

East Kazakhstan Province

.

The Altai mountains on the Russian side of the border have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.^[1]

South: Altai Republic

Above the "Four Corners" and in the southern part of South Central

M52 highway (Russia)

runs northwest from here.

Northern mountain range: Abakans and Kuznetsk Alatau

Northern South Central Siberia includes the Altai Republic, which is a 400 km projection of forested mountains which bends slightly to the west at the tip. It is called the Abakan Range in the south and Kuznetsk Alatau in the north. North of its northern end is the town of Tomsk.

West: Kuznetsk Depression

The west part of South Central Siberia includes the steppe of the Kuznetsk Depression, which contains the large Kuznetsk Basin coal fields, the mountains of the Abakans and Kuznetsk Alatau and the Salair Ridge which ends near Novosibirsk.

In the Soviet era, the Kuznetsk Basin coal fields were the largest Russian coal field after the Donets Basin. The name Kuznets means blacksmith and comes from the 'Blacksmith Tatars' or Shors, who were notable metal workers.

The Russians reached the area as early as 1618. The Abakans, Kuznetsk Alatau and the Kuznetsk Basin form the

Ob River north of Tomsk. The town of Novokuznetsk

was founded in 1618.

East: Minusinsk Depression

The eastern part of South Central Siberia, between the Kuznetsk Alatau and the Sayan Mountains, includes the steppe of the

Ob River. East of the river is the southern tip of Krasnoyarsk Krai

.

This area was a center of the

Khakas

of Khakassia may be their descendants.

Southeast: Tuva

East of the Altai and southeast of Minusinsk is

Tannu-Ola Mountains, which separate it from the Mongolian Great Lakes Depression

, on the west by the Altai, on the northwest by the Western Sayans which separate it from the Minusinsk Depression, on the north by the Eastern Sayans and on the east by mountains on the Mongolian border.

The core area is the

Yenisei River flows west here and then breaks through the Western Sayans in a long narrow gorge which contains the Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam

north of the Tuva border.

Tuva was traditionally part of Mongolia, and only passed to the Soviet Union—Russia in the 20th century.

Surrounding area

To the north, South Central Siberia merges into the Siberian forests.

To the south, South Central Siberia merges into the mountains along the former Sino-Soviet border. Dzungaria is directly to the south.

To the west of South Central Siberia is the agricultural steppe of the

Irtysh Rivers are the Baraba steppe

in the north and the Kalunda Steppe in the south.

To the east, the Western and then Eastern Sayan Mountains extend east to the southern tip of Lake Baikal.

Other information

Large cities in South Central Siberia include Novosibirsk on the Ob River, Tomsk north of the Kuznetsk Alatau, Krasnoyarsk north of the Minusinsk Depression on the Yenisei, and Barnaul on the steppe south of Novosibirsk.

The Trans-Siberian Railway runs through this region from Novosibirsk to Krasnoyarsk.

The area to the west is steppe or forest-steppe. The steppe curves around north of the Kuznetsk Alatau into the Minusinsk Depression. The land to the north and east is Taiga.

The Russians first entered the area in about 1620. Seeking furs, they stayed in the forest area to the north. Massive peasant colonization of the steppe area only began after about 1860.

References

^ UNESCO World Heritage Centre. "Golden Mountains of Altai - UNESCO World Heritage Centre". Whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 2019-11-08.