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The Altai-Sayan region refers to an area of central Asia proximate to the Altai Mountains and the Sayan Mountains, near to where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together. This region is one of the world centers of temperate plant diversity. Its biological, landscape, historical, cultural and religious diversity is unique. 3,726 species of vascular plants are registered in the region including 700 threatened or rare species, 317 of which are endemic; fauna consists of 680 species, 6% of which are endemic. Its ecosystem is comparatively unchanged since the last ice age, and it is the host of endangered species that include the saiga, nerpa, and snow leopard. It is the focus of ongoing international and regional environmental conservation initiatives. The area is also culturally diverse, with four language groups (Russian, Mongolian, Sinitic and Turkic; historically also Samoyedic and Yeniseian) and more than 20 indigenous ethnic groups practicing traditional land use systems. There are also a variety of religions including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Tengrism and Shamanism. The region covers more than one million square kilometers, and has a population of between 5 and 6 million inhabitants.〔http://www.maweb.org/en/SGA.AltaiSayan.aspx〕 ==Geography== The Altai-Sayan ecoregions contain and share a name with the Altai Mountains and the Sayan Mountains. The Altai Mountains are a mountain range in East-Central Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together, and are where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their headwaters. The Sayan Mountains lie between northwestern Mongolia and southern Siberia. The Altai-Sayan has a total area of 1,065,000 square kilometers. Its area belongs to the territory of Russia (62%), Mongolia (29%), Kazakhstan (5%) and China (4%).〔 Part or all of the Russian Oblasts of Kemerovo, Novosibirsk, and Irkutsk; the Krais of Altai and Krasnoyarsk; and the Autonomous Republics of Altai, Khakassia, Tuva, and Buryatia lie within the Altai-Sayan, as do parts of the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, East Kazakhstan province of Kazakhstan, and the Mongolian Aimags of Govi-Altai, Khovd, Bayan-Ölgii, Uvs, Zavkhan, and Khövsgöl. At the far north of the Altai-Sayan region, near its boundary, is the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk (population above 900,000 in 2010 census).〔 Other towns in the region include Kyzyl in Russia (pop. about 110,000 in 2008), as well as Ulaangom, Ulgii, and Khovd, all in Mongolia (each with population under 30,000).〔 The Russian town of Gorno-Altaysk (pop. about 60,000 in 2010) lies within the region near its western boundary, and the Russian city of Irkutsk lies just outside the region to its east.〔 The Altai-Sayan region's total population is estimated as about 5.5 million.〔 Contained within this ecoregion is the Great Lakes Hollow, a large semi-arid depression, bounded by the Altai in the West, Khangai in the East and Tannu-Ola Mountains in the North.〔("Great Lakes Depression" ), ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia''〕 This contains six major lakes: the saline lakes Uvs Nuur, Khyargas Nuur and Dörgön Nuur; and freshwater lake Khar-Us Nuur, Khar Nuur and Airag Nuur. These are remnants of the West Siberian Glacial Lake, a periglacial lake formed when the Arctic Ocean outlets for each of the Ob and Yenisei rivers were blocked by the Barents-Kara Ice Sheet during the Weichselian Glaciation, approximately 80,000 years ago.〔Dutch, Steve; (''Pleistocene Glaciers and Geography'' ), Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (accessed 30 November 2006)〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Altai-Sayan region」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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