Altai (Onguday)
written by grad
on August 14th, 2008
, 7 comments
(10 votes)
The Altai Mountains are a mountain range in central Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together, and where the rivers Irtysh, Ob and Yenisei have their sources. The Altai Mountains are known as the Turkic peoples’ birthplace.
The name, in Turkic Alytau or Altay, means Al (gold), tau (mount); in Mongolian Алтайн нуруу Altain nuruu, the “Mountains of Gold”. The proposed Altaic language family takes its name from the mountain range.
The Siberian Altai represents the northern most region affected by the tectonic collision of India into Asia. Massive fault systems run through the area, including the Kurai fault zone and the recently identified Tashanta fault zone. These fault systems are typically thrusts or right lateral strike-slip faults, some of which are tectonically active. Rock types in the mountains are typically granites and metamorphic schists, and some are highly sheared near to fault zones.
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