The Selenga Highlands (russian: Селенгинское среднегорье) are a mountain area in

Buryatia Buryatia, officially the Republic of Buryatia (russian: Республика Бурятия, r=Respublika Buryatiya, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə bʊˈrʲætʲɪjə; bua, Буряад Улас, Buryaad Ulas, , mn, Буриад Улс, Buriad Uls), is ...

and the southwestern end of

Zabaykalsky Krai Zabaykalsky Krai ( rus, Забайкальский край, r=Zabaikal'skii krai, p=zəbɐjˈkalʲskʲɪj kraj, lit. "Transbaikal krai"; bua, Yбэр Байгалай хизаар, Uber Baigalai Xizaar) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai) t ...

, Russia. The highlands are named after the

Selenga River The Selenga or Selenge ( ; bua, Сэлэнгэ гол / Сэлэнгэ мүрэн, translit=Selenge gol / Selenge müren; russian: Селенга́, ) is a major river in Mongolia and Buryatia, Russia. Originating from its headwater tributarie ...

Protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

s in the highlands include the Baikal Nature Reserve and the Altacheysky Reserve.

Geography

The Selenga Highlands are located in central and southern Buryatia. They rise in the area of the basin of the Selenga River, including its large tributaries – Dzhida, Temnik, Chikoy, Khilok and Uda. From the north, the highlands are limited by the valleys of the

Khamar-Daban Hamar-Daban (russian: Хама́р-Даба́н; bua, Һамар дабаан, from - "nut", and , "pass" or "ridge"), is a mountain range in Southern Siberia, Russia. Geography The range is located in Buryatia, with a small section in Irkutsk ...

and

Ulan-Burgas Ulan-Burgas (; , from ''улаан'' - "red", and ''бургааһан'', "small birch" or "shrub"),Vitim Vitim (russian: Витим) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. Modern localities *Vitim, Sakha Republic, an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Lensky District of the Sakha Republic * Vitim, Republic of Buryatia, a ...

and Shilka, bordering on the

Vitim Plateau Vitim Plateau is a plateau in Buryatia and Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia. The plateau is sparsely populated, the main settlements are Romanovka and Bagdarin. An area of the plateau is an ancient volcanic field with a number of cinder cones and volca ...

; in the southeast they limit with the

Khentei-Daur Highlands The Khentei-Daur Highlands ( rus, Хэнтэй-Даурское нагорье), also known as Khentei-Chikoy Highlands ''(Хэнтэ́й-Чико́йское наго́рье)'' are a mountainous area in the Transbaikal Krai, Far Eastern Federa ...

; in the south lies the

Mongolia–Russia border The Mongolia–Russia border ( mn, Монгол-Оросын хил, Mongol-Orosiin hil, ; russian: Российско-монгольская граница, Rossijsko-mongoljskaja granica) is the international border between Mongolia and the Rus ...

and in the southwest and west, the Selenga Highlands are bounded by the northern slopes of the

Dzhidinsky Range Dzhidinsky District (russian: Джиди́нский райо́н; bua, Зэдын аймаг, ''Zedyn aimag'') is an administrativeResolution #431 and municipalLaw #985-III district (raion), one of the administrative divisions of the Republic of ...

and the southwestern slopes of the Lesser Khamar-Daban.

Lake Gusinoye Lake Gusinoye (russian: Гусиное озеро, ''Gusinoye ozero''; mn, Галуут нуур, Galuut nuur) is the name of a body of fresh water in the Republic of Buryatia, Russia. Geography The lake is located in the Gusinoozyor Basin betwe ...

is located in a basin between two ranges of the highlands.

Google Earth Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and geog ...

Subranges

The Selenga Highlands include low to middle height mountain ranges with elevations ranging from to above sea level, generally oriented in a northeast and ENE direction. * Borgoy Range, highest point * Burgutuy Range, highest point * Zagan Range, highest point *Western Malkhan Range, highest point * Monostoy Range, highest point * Khambin Range, highest point * Khudan Range, highest point * Tsagan-Daban, highest point *Lesser

(southern slopes only) *

Ulan-Burgas Ulan-Burgas (; , from ''улаан'' - "red", and ''бургааһан'', "small birch" or "shrub"),Bichur Depression, with a length of and a width of * Gusinoozyor Basin, with a length of and a width of * Tugnuy-Sukhara Depression, with a length of and a width of *Other important

intermontane basin Intermontane is a physiographic adjective formed from the prefix " inter-" (''signifying among, between, amid, during, within, mutual, reciprocal'') and the adjective "montane" (inhabiting, or growing in mountainous regions, especially cool, moi ...

s are Borgoy, Ubukun-Orongoy, Udin-Ivolgin and Khudan-Kizhingin, among others.

Flora and climate

The Selenga Highlands include

taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruce ...

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, ...

and

forest steppe A forest steppe is a temperate-climate ecotone and habitat type composed of grassland interspersed with areas of woodland or forest. Locations Forest steppe primarily occurs in a belt of forest steppes across northern Eurasia from the eastern ...

areas. Soils at heights from to are

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

, from to

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

, and from to

alfisol Alfisols are a soil order in USDA soil taxonomy. Alfisols form in semi-arid to humid areas, typically under a hardwood forest cover. They have a clay-enriched subsoil and relatively high native fertility. "Alf" refers to aluminium (Al) and iron ( ...

s. Roughly two-thirds of the highlands are covered by mainly

coniferous forest Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All exta ...

s, but large areas of

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

forests are also found. Of the rare plant species, the Siberian apricot, listed in the Red Book of Buryatia, deserves mention. The climate of the highland area is harshly

continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' ( ...

. The average annual temperature is . Annual precipitation in the middle reaches of the Selenga River is between and . Further up the watershed of its tributaries it reaches .Фауна и экология стафилинид Селенгинского среднегорья. Природные условия района исследований.
/ref>

Bibliography

Buryat Book Publishing House, 1963 – Physical geography – 169 pages, *S. Baja, E. Danzhalova, Yu. Drobyshev, ''Трансформация наземных экосистем южной части бассейна Байкала (Transformation of terrestrial ecosystems in the southern part of the Baikal basin)''. 2018,

References

External links