Selenga Highlands


The Selenga Highlands are a mountainous area in Buryatia and the southwestern end of Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia.
The Highlands are named after the Selenga River. Protected areas 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 River, Chikoy, Khilok and Uda.
From the north, the highlands are edged by the valleys of the Khamar-Daban and Ulan-Burgas ranges; in the east they are bound by the watershed of the Uda, Vitim and Shilka, bordering on the Vitim Plateau. In the southeast they adjoin the Khentei-Daur Highlands and to the south lies the Mongolia–Russia border. In the southwest and west, the Highlands are bounded by the northern slopes of the Dzhidinsky Range and the southwestern slopes of the Lesser Khamar-Daban. Lake Gusinoye is located in a basin between two ranges of the highlands.

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 Khamar-Daban
  • Ulan-Burgas
  • Smaller ranges, such as Ganzurin Range, Shaman Mountains and Toyon among others.

    Intermontane basins

In the Selenga Highlands some areas between ranges are occupied by significant depressions. These include:
  • 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 basins are Borgoy, Ubukun-Orongoy, Udin-Ivolgin and Khudan-Kizhingin, among others.

    Flora and climate

The Selenga Highlands include taiga, steppe and forest steppe areas. Soils at heights from to are brown, from to black, and from to alfisols. Roughly two-thirds of the highlands are covered by mainly coniferous forests, but large areas of birch 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 Highlands area is harshly continental. The average annual temperature is. Annual precipitation in the middle reaches of the Selenga River is between and. Further up the watershed of the river's tributaries it reaches.