The Khibiny Mountains (russian: Хиби́ны ; sjd, Umptek) is one of the two main

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

s of the

Kola Peninsula sjd, Куэлнэгк нёа̄ррк , image_name= Kola peninsula.png , image_caption= Kola Peninsula as a part of Murmansk Oblast , image_size= 300px , image_alt= , map_image= Murmansk in Russia.svg , map_caption = Location of Murmansk Oblas ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, within the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...

, located between

Imandra Imandra (russian: Имандра) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a ''village#Russia, Selo'') in Olenegorsk, Murmansk Oblast, Olenegorsk municipality of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. The village is located on the eastern sh ...

and

Umbozero Umbozero Lake (russian: Умбозеро, named after the adherent Umba River) is located in Murmansk Oblast of Russia, between the Khibiny on the west and Lovozero Tundras The Lovozero Massif (russian: Ловозёрские тундры, ...

lakes. The range is also known as Khibiny Massif, Khibinsky Mountains, Khibinsky Tundras, Khibins or Khibiny. The Khibiny National Park was set up in 2018.

Geography

The Khibiny Massif are the highest mountains of the

, a large

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

extending from northern

into the

Barents Barents may refer to: *René Barents (born 1951), Dutch judge and legal scholar *Willem Barents (c. 1550–1597), Dutch navigator and explorer *Barents AirLink, a Swedish airline *Barents Island (), an island in the Svalbard archipelago, part of ...

and

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

seas. The total land area of the peninsula is approximately . It is rich in minerals due to the removal of a layer of soil during the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

. The Khibiny Massif is of oval shape of about 1,300 km². and occupies the central part of the peninsula at a relative elevation of 900–1000 m above the surrounding plain. The mountains are not particularly high; the two highest peaks are the Yudychvumchorr, which stands , and the Chasnachorr, which stands . The average elevation is . The mountains form the shape of a horseshoe topped by a high

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

, drained by a series of deep canyons. The peaks are of

type, with steep slopes, with

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

icefield An ice field (also spelled icefield) is a mass of interconnected valley glaciers (also called mountain glaciers or alpine glaciers) on a mountain mass with protruding rock ridges or summits. They are often found in the colder climates and highe ...

s and

snowfield A snow field, snowfield or neve is an accumulation of permanent snow and ice, typically found above the snow line, normally in mountainous and glacial terrain. Glaciers originate in snowfields. The lower end of a glacier is usually free from ...

s in some places. The overall terrain is

alpine tundra Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated alpine climate, harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alp ...

. The second, and similar mountain range of the Kola Peninsula, the

Lovozero Tundras The Lovozero Massif (russian: Ловозёрские тундры, ''Lovozyorskiye Tundry'', named after the lake in that area – Lake Lovozero; the region is also known as , ''Lovozyorye'') is a mountain range located in the center of the Kola ...

, is located about 5 km east from the easternmost point of Khibiny, separated from it by Lake

. The Khibiny range is extremely rich in minerals, mainly

apatite Apatite is a group of phosphate minerals, usually hydroxyapatite, fluorapatite and chlorapatite, with high concentrations of OH−, F− and Cl− ions, respectively, in the crystal. The formula of the admixture of the three most common e ...

and

nepheline Nepheline, also called nephelite (), is a rock-forming mineral in the feldspathoid groupa silica-undersaturated aluminosilicate, Na3 K Al4 Si4 O16, that occurs in intrusive and volcanic rocks with low silica, and in their associated pegmatite ...

ores. 477 valid minerals have been reported and 108 of those are type localities or minerals first described in the Khibiny. The range is also seismically active. Khibiny mountains are mostly uninhabited, except for one of the world's richest mineral quarries. One of the minerals discovered there is reported to have a potential as a nuclear waste radioactivity absorbent. By the foot of the massif the cities of

Apatity Apatity ( rus, Апатиты, p=əpɐˈtʲitɨ, lit. apatites) is a town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located along the Murman Railway, west of Kirovsk and south of Murmansk, the administrative center of the oblast. The town is named after one o ...

and Kirovsk are situated.

Climate

Khibiny have an Arctic-moderate climate, with an average

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures ...

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...

of −5 °C (23 °F). However, the temperature can potentially drop to −30 °C (−22 °F) during the night. The

Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension the North Atlantic Current, North Atlantic Drift, is a warm and swift Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida a ...

, which brings warmer water to the Kolsky Peninsula from the north, moderates the climate, making it slightly warmer than other Arctic regions.

Toponyms in Khibins

* Mount Aikuaiventchorr * Mount Eveslogchorr * Hackman Valley * Kaskasnyunchorr * Khibinpakhchorr * Mount Koashkar * Mount Koashva * Kuniok Valley * Mount Maly Mannepakhk * Mount Kukisvumchorr * Marchenko Peak * Mount Rasvumchorr * Mount Restin'yun * Mount Yukspor * Loparskaya Valley * Mount Nyorkpakhk (Niorkpakhk, N'orkpukhk, N'Yourpakhk) * Mount Partomchorr * Petrelius River * Mount Rischorr * Mount Takhtarvumchorr * Tuliylukht Bay * Vuonnemiok River * Imandra Lake * Yum'egor Pass * Mount Vud'yavrchorr (with botanical garden of polar-alpine flora)

References

External links

*
Guide to the Khibiny

hibiny.info

{{Authority control Mountain ranges of Russia Mountains of Murmansk Oblast