precious-postcards

Golden Mountains of Altai

The Altai mountains in southern Siberia form the major mountain range in the western Siberia biogeographic region and provide the source of its greatest rivers – the Ob and the Irtysh. Three separate areas are inscribed: Altaisky Zapovednik and a buffer zone around Lake Teletskoye; Katunsky Zapovednik and a buffer zone around Mount Belukha; and the Ukok Quiet Zone on the Ukok plateau. The total area covers 1,611,457 ha. The region represents the most complete sequence of altitudinal vegetation zones in central Siberia, from steppe, forest-steppe, mixed forest, subalpine vegetation to alpine vegetation. The site is also an important habitat for endangered animal species such as the snow leopard.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/768

The Golden Mountains of Altai is a region with high plant diversity in Southern Siberia. The mountains have several undisturbed glaciers and provide the source of main rivers like the Ob. It also holds Teletskoye Lake, the second largest of Siberia after Lake Baikal.

The area consists of:

- Altai Natural Reserve

- Katun Natural Reserve

- Lake Teletskoye

- Belukha Mountain

- Ukok Plateau

The mountains are the habitat of several globally endangered mammals, such as the snow leopard and the Altai argali. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/altai.html