The southern rim of Siberia is surrounded by the mountainous systems of the Altay,
Sayans, and the Baikal region which continue into the mountains of Transbaikalia and
Mongolia. This area contains one of the most interesting continental-scale landforms of
Eurasia — the Baikal rift. The degree to which the mountains of Southern Siberia have
been researched varies. The amount of literature related to the Baikal rift and the Baikal
sedimentary record, which have been subjects of extensive research by many Russian and
international teams, is enormous. The glacial history and vegetation of the Altay and
Sayan mountains are relatively well known. By contrast, our knowledge of the Stanovoy
Ridge and the Transbaikalian mountains, especially their environmental history, is still
very poor.
This chapter consists of five main parts. The first explains briefly the origin of the
mountains of Southern Siberia and provides a summary of opinions on the Baikal rift. The
next four sections discuss the environments of the Altay, Sayans, the mountains of
Baikalia and Transbaikalia, the Stanovoy Ridge, and the Dzhugdzhur, emphasizing
environmental history, contemporary climate and glaciation, slope and cryogenic processes,
and biota. The section on Baikalia and Transbaikalia focuses on the mountainous regions;
Lake Baikal is discussed below. Throughout this chapter, terms and concepts related to the
permafrost and taiga vegetation, common in the Russian-language literature, are used.
These are explained above, respectively. One particular biogeographical term, used in
relation to the mountains of Southern Siberia, requires explanation. The upper belt in the
vertical vegetation sequence in Southern Siberia is known as goltsy (bare rocks or bald
mountains). This belt contains bare rocks, fragments of tundra vegetation and individual
dwarf shrubs with the plant cover becoming progressively thinner with altitude.
