Altai Mountain Range

The Altai Mountains are a mountain range in Central Asia that connects Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan, as well as the sources of the rivers Irtysh, Ob, and Yenisei. The Mongolian Altai Mountain Range extends south-eastward for 400 kilometers along the Chinese border before curving somewhat more eastward for another 725 kilometers in south-western Mongolia, branching south-eastward from the main Altai Range near the north-western border with Russia. The range’s northwest end joins with the Sayan Mountains to the east, then continues southeast, gradually becoming lower and merging into the Gobi Desert’s high plateau.

The Turkic peoples originated in the Altai Mountains.