Golden Mountains of Altai is the name of an

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

consisting of the Altai and Katun Natural Reserves,

Lake Teletskoye Lake Teletskoye (russian: Телецкое озеро, lit=the lake of the ; ) is the largest lake in the Altai Mountains and the Altai Republic, Russia, and has depth up to 325 meters. Situated at a height of above the sea level, the lake is ...

, Belukha Mountain, and the

Ukok Plateau Ukok Plateau is a plateau covered by grasslands located in southwestern Siberia, in the Altai Mountains region of Russia near the borders China-Russia border, with China, Kazakhstan-Russia border, Kazakhstan and Mongolia-Russia border, Mongolia. T ...

. As stated in the UNESCO description of the site, "the region represents the most complete sequence of altitudinal vegetation zones in central Siberia, from

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

, forest-steppe, mixed forest, subalpine vegetation to alpine vegetation". While making its decision, UNESCO also cited Russian Altai's importance for preservation of the globally endangered mammals, such as

snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia''), also known as the ounce, is a Felidae, felid in the genus ''Panthera'' native to the mountain ranges of Central Asia, Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable on the IUCN Red ...

and the

Altai argali Altai argali (''Ovis ammon ammon'') is a traditional subspecies of argali, a wild sheep that roams the highlands of the Altai Mountains in Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches ...

. The site covers a vast area of 16,175 km².

Tourist sites

Tourists usually visit four sites in the Altai region: Mount Belukha, the

, the

Katun River The Katun (, ''Katuń''; , ''Kadın'') is a river in the Altai Republic and the Altai Krai of Russia. It forms the Ob as it joins the Biya some southwest of Biysk.

, and the Karakol Valley. Mount Belukha is regarded as a sacred site to Buddhists and the Burkhanists. Their myths surrounding this portion of the mountain range lent credence to their claim that it was the location of

Shangri-la Shangri-La is a fictional place in Asia's Kunlun Mountains (昆仑山), Uses the spelling 'Kuen-Lun'. described in the 1933 novel ''Lost Horizon'' by English author James Hilton. Hilton portrays Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, ge ...

(Shambala). This location, having first been climbed in the early 1900s, now hosts a myriad of climbers each year. The Ukok Plateau is an ancient burial site of the early Siberian people. A number of myths are connected to this portion of the region. The Katun River is an important religious location to the Altaians where they (during celebrations) utilize ancient ecological knowledge to restore and maintain the river. The

Karakol Valley Karakol ( ky, Каракол, Karakol, قاراقول, ; zh, 卡拉科尔), formerly Przhevalsk (russian: Пржевальск), is the fourth-largest city in Kyrgyzstan, near the eastern tip of Lake Issyk-Kul, about from the Kyrgyzstan–C ...

is famous for a set of pristine lakes that lie between 1820 and 2097 meters above the sea level.

Cultural value

While the Golden Mountains of Altai are listed on the World Heritage List under natural criteria, it holds information about the nomadic Scythian culture. The

permafrost Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface ...

in these mountains has preserved Scythian burial mounds. These frozen tombs, or kurgans, hold metal objects, pieces of gold, mummified bodies, tattooed bodies, sacrificed horses, wood/leather objects, clothes, textiles, etc. However, the Ukok Plateau (in the Altai Mountains) is a sacred site to the Altai people, so archeologists and scholars who are looking to excavate the site for human remains raise controversy. The

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

in London exhibited "Scythian Warriors of Ancient Siberia" from September 2017 to January 2018. The exhibition was sponsored by British Petroleum (BP).

Climate threats

Climate change has caused the melting of the permafrost endangering the preservation of these tombs. Over the past 100 years there has been a 1°C increase in temperature across Asia and a 2°C increase in temperature in the footsteps of the Altai, with the increase more pronounced in the winter and spring. Glacial outburst floods have become a problem in this area. In particular, the Sofiyskiy Glacier in the region has been retreating at a rate of 18 meters per year. A rise in temperature also poses a threat to the various endangered species that are housed in the mountain region. These species include the snow leopard, the argali mountain sheep, the steppe eagle, and the Black Stork.

Preservation efforts

In 2005, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre launched the Preservation of the Frozen Tombs of the Altai Mountains Project with financial support from the UNESCO/Flemish Funds-in-Trust. However, as of May 14, 2008 this project has been brought to an end.

Notes

External links