Probably, many modern travelers at least once in their life thought about the height of the Sayan Mountains. Why might this be of interest? As a rule, there are several explanations at once, the most important of which can be considered ordinary curiosity and an irresistible desire to visit all the highest possible points, if not the planet as a whole, then at least our country.
This article aims to talk about such an amazing geographical feature of our country as the Sayan Mountains. The reader will learn a lot of useful information about this corner of our vast country.
general information
The Sayan Mountains, photos of which can be found in almost any guide to the regions of the Russian Federation, consist of two interconnected mountain systems located in the south of Siberia within the Irkutsk Region, Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Republics of Tyva, Khakassia and Buryatia, as well as the northern regions of Mongolia, bordering Republics of Tuva and Buryatia.
The mountains are geographically divided into Western and Eastern Sayan mountains, each of which is distinguished by a number of its own characteristic features.
For example, the western part has leveled and pointed ridges without glaciation, between which intermountain depressions are located. For the eastern part, mid-mountain peaks with glaciers are typical.
Sayan mountains have many rivers belonging to the Yenisei basin.
The slopes are covered with mountain taiga, which passes into the alpine tundra. Between mountain systems there are many basins of various shapes and depths. One of the most famous is the Minusinsk depression, which has a large number of archaeological sites. On the whole, it can be noted that the average amplitude of the heights of the Eastern Sayans is significantly different from the identical indicator of the western ranges.
Where did the name come from
Scientists claim that these places were named after the Turkish-speaking tribe of the same name, who lived in Siberia, in the upper Yenisei and Oka.
Later, the Sayans united with other mountain tribes and became part of the peoples of the Republic of Tuva. The ethnos itself belonged to the Samoyed tribes, and its representatives called the mountains “Kogmen”, while the Buryats gave them a more complex name for the ear of a modern person - “Sardyk”.
Russian Cossacks Tyumenets and Petrov spoke about this tribe in their annals; they visited Altyn Khan's estate in 1615. Subsequently, in the records of Russian travelers, the mountains were already listed under the name Sayan Mountains, the highest point of which, as was established later, is 3491 m.
Education Features
It should be noted that from a geological point of view, these are relatively young mountains, which, according to scientists, appeared about 400 million years ago.
They are formed from ancient rocks, including those of volcanic origin. Before the formation of the mountain system, there was an ocean, as evidenced by the remains of the found petrified algae.
The formation of the mountainous relief occurred under the influence of climate. During the period of ancient glaciation, the mountains were covered with glaciers, which, shifting, changed the earth's surface, forming peaked peaks and gorges with steep slopes. After warming, the glaciers melted, filling numerous basins and lowering relief - lakes of glacial origin appeared.
Geographical position
Many believe that the height of the Sayan Mountains is not so significant, and therefore does not deserve special attention. Let's check if this is actually so, getting to know more closely their geographical features.
In general, this hill is a continuation of the Altai mountain system, which serves as the border between China and Russia.
Mountains consist of parallel mountain ranges interconnected by nodes. Sayans are connected with the Altai mountain system by the Shabin-Davana ridge. To the north and northwest of it lies the Kaltanovsky ridge, which abuts against the Itemsky ridge, stretching from east to southwest of the Yenisei tributary. In the south, the Kaltanovsky ridge connects with the foothills of Omaytur. In the east direction from the ridge of Shabin-Davan, the Sayans are divided into two chains. The northern Sayans are known as Kur-Taiga, and the southern - Tuna-Taiga.
A mountain spur separates the Kantegir and Yenisei rivers from the northern Sayans in the upper reaches of the Sosnovka and Kyzyn-su rivers. Further, through the Yenisei, the Sayan Mountains leave in several chains to the northeast.
The majestic river of Siberia, the Yenisei, passes through the mountain ranges of the massif called the Western Sayan, forming many rapids.
On the right bank of the Yenisei mountains smoothly pass into the steppes of Minusinsk district. Parallel Sayan chains have different names. Close to the Yenisei is the Kyzirsuk Range, creating a narrow passage with a powerful waterfall called the Great Threshold. Further, it passes between the rivers Kyzir-Suka and Bolshoi Oi to the banks of the Yenisei, where the Biryusa chain drops to a height of 1600 feet.
In addition to two branches, the Sayans have a mountain range that separates the Kazyra and Kizira rivers . Further, the Agul spur goes to the north and north-west and divides the Tagul and Agul rivers.
How the highest Sayan mountain was formed: myths and legends of the Sayan mountains
The power of blocks of stone, which abut practically in the sky itself, has always become an object of inspiration and some respect from the peoples of these regions. That is why in the folklore of local residents you can find such a huge number of legends dedicated to just this topic. Meet some of them.
In ancient times, a heavenly deity sent his son Gesar to the earth to fight evil. In those days, all the gods and heroes lived in the mountains, and the throne of Geser was on the highest mountain. Heavenly hero cleansed the world of injustice and monsters, performed many feats. His warriors petrified, turning into mountains. Now they are called the Sayans, and the highest of them, where his throne was, is Munku-Sardyk. The tops of the Sayan mountains have ancient names and are shrouded in myths. On many of them, the so-called “obo”, or places of worship and sacrifice to the gods, are built of stones and logs.
In general, Geser is a mythological hero who is worshiped by almost all the peoples of Central Asia. The legend of this deity contains numerous plot cycles and has about 22,000 lines. The study of the epic continues for a hundred years, but there is still no genuine data. Some believe that Geser is a fictional hero, while others are of the opinion that the epic is dedicated to Genghis Khan. It is also possible that Geser means the Roman translation of the title Caesar (Caesar). The Buryat Geseriad considers the version that the epic appeared before his birth. But most people are inclined to believe that the traditions of Geser narrate about the life of a military leader who lived in the XI-XII centuries.
Secret and riddle of a name
The ancestors of modern Tuvans is the Turkic-speaking Soyot tribe, who lived in the past in the mountains in the upper reaches of the Yenisei and Oka rivers. According to ethnographers, “soyot” refers to the plural of the word “soyon,” and therefore this tribe was also called soyon. Later, the word was changed into sayan. The tribe called the mountains "Cogman", which meant "heavenly barriers." Buryats called these mountains “Sardyk”, which means “char”.
For the first time, the Russian Cossacks Petrov and Tyumenets, who visited Altyn Khan in 1615, reported the Sayan Mountains. The first conqueror of Sayan was Commissioner Pesterov, who checked the border lines in the mountains and was responsible for the border posts and signs in 1778-1780. Research on the Sayan began in the 19th century.
Geological features
Western Sayan has a folded structure and is part of the Caledonian belt of the Paleozoic Altai-Sayan region. It stretched from southwest to northeast in the form of an ellipse, which is bounded on all sides by faults. The internal structure is due to the complex integumentary-articulate type of structure.
If you reveal such a complex and multifaceted issue as the height of the Sayan Mountains, we can not help but mention that the mountain system of the western part is divided into several tectonic zones (North Sayan, Central Sayan, Borus and Kurtushubinsk). The North Sayan belt includes Vendian-Cambrian volcanic-sedimentary deposits with a combination of ophiolite rocks in the melange zones.
The Lower Paleozoic quartzites and diabases, as well as clay-siliceous schists and hyperbasites, are typical of the Kurtushibinsky and Borus belts. Such rocks are complex tectonic-sedimentary mixtures. The Central Sayan belt consists of a complex of volcanic-flyschoid formations of the Early Paleozoic with numerous granite strata. This belt is characterized by tectonic clusters and uneven changes in sedimentary rocks. Also, sometimes the Jebash zone is distinguished separately, having a more ancient (Riphean) origin, located along the northern part of the Western Sayans. Modified volcanic-flyschoid deposits prevail here.
Eastern Sayan is divided according to its age. The northeastern part adjacent to the Siberian platform in the southwest belongs to the oldest (Precambrian) type, and the southwest to the younger (Caledonian) type. The first consists of altered Precambrian rocks, which include ancient gneisses and amphibolites. The central Derbinsky anticlinorium has a structure of younger rocks - shales, marble and amphibolites. The southwestern part of the Sayan Mountains is composed of volcanic-sedimentary rocks. In the north and west of the Eastern Sayan Mountains, orogenic depressions consisting of volcanic terrigenous rocks are formed.
Minerals of the mountains
Considering in more detail such a thing as height, the Sayans cannot be represented as a solid geological object. Why? The thing is that their eastern part is longer and higher than the western. For example, the peak of the first part rises above sea level by 3491 m (the highest point of the Sayan Mountains is Munku-Sardyk), while the second one only by 3121 m. Yes, and the east is almost 400 km longer than the west.
However, despite these differences, the value and importance of this array for the economy of our country is difficult to overestimate. The fact is that the number of useful rocks lying in their strata is truly impressive.
In the Western Sayans there are deposits of iron, copper, gold, chrysotile asbestos, molybdenum and tungsten ores. The main wealth of the mountain interior is iron and chrysotile asbestos. Iron ore is a hydrothermal-metasomatic type associated with gabbroids and granitoids of increased basicity. Chrysotile asbestos is associated with Lower Cambrian hyperbasites.
The eastern Sayan Mountains, whose height is significantly predominant, is known for deposits of gold, iron, aluminum, titanium ores and other rare metals, graphite, mica and magnesites. Iron deposits are represented by ferruginous quartzites, volcanic-sedimentary hematite-magnetite and magnetite ores. Aluminum ores are represented by bauxites, urtites, and sillimanite-bearing Proterozoic schists. Agricultural phosphates include secondary phosphorites. There are also small deposits of contact-metasomatic phlogopite and pegmatite muscovite. In the region, reserves of quartz, graphite, jade, chrysotile asbestos, limestone and building materials were found.
Western Sayan Mountains
This territory stretches to the northeast to the East Sayan, from the headwaters of the Small Abakan River to the headwaters of the Kazyr and Uda rivers. The highest point is the Kyzyl-Taiga ridge (3120 m), which is part of the Sayan ridge.
The mountain landscape is characterized by alpine relief with steep slopes and extensive stone placers. Mountain peaks in the west reach a height of up to 3000 m, in the east they decrease to 2000 m. The foot of the slopes are covered with pine-deciduous forests, which above go into the dark coniferous taiga.
The upper tiers at an altitude of 2000 m represent the mountain taiga with glacial lakes, slopes and moraines. On the territory of the Western Sayans there is the Sayano-Shushensky reserve.
Eastern Sayan Mountains
The peaks of this territory are covered with melting snow. The highest point of the Eastern Sayans and the Sayan Mountains themselves, as mentioned above, is Mount Munku-Sardyk (3490 m), which is adjacent to the Oka Plateau. The plain here is covered with alpine meadows, deciduous forests and mountain tundra, and desert rocky areas are also found. In the Central part, a knot of several ranges has been formed, its highest peak (Peak Grand) has a height of 2980 m.
Peak Topographers (3044 m) refers to the second largest peak. The main glaciers are located in the area of the main peaks. In addition, in the Eastern Sayan Mountains there is a "valley of volcanoes" with traces of volcanic activity, which is a volcanic plateau. The latest lava emissions were around 8,000 years ago. In the Eastern Sayan Mountains, the world-famous Pillars Nature Reserve is located.
What to see in the Sayan Mountains
Given all the above facts, it is not surprising that the height of the Sayan Mountains annually attracts such a huge number of travelers from different parts of the globe. Everyone wants to feel like a piece of something huge and immense.
However, not only the height attracts here, the Sayans have a unique taiga landscape with glacial lakes, waterfalls and rivers that create unique landscapes.
The Central Sayans (Tofalaria) are considered the most inaccessible and uninhabited area of the mountains. Among the taiga of the Western Sayans, a natural "Stone City" was hidden, where the rocks resemble the remains of ancient castles and fortresses. The Eastern Sayans are known for Shumak mineral springs and the “valley of volcanoes”.
The Munku-Sardyk region with the Okinskoye plateau is especially beautiful in July, when the mountains are covered with colored carpet of poppies, rhododendrons, edelweiss, golden root and other plants. There are many gorges, rivers, lakes and streams, there are red deer and musk deer. The nature of Munku-Sardyk is almost untouched by man. The ridge itself is located on the border between Russia and Mongolia, and visiting this area is only possible with permission from the border service, otherwise the height of the Sayan Mountains can be bewitching only from the outside.