Selenga Highlands

The Selenga Highlands (Селенгинское среднегорье) 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 800 m to 2000 m above sea level, generally oriented in a northeast and ENE direction.
 * Borgoy Range, highest point 1240 m
 * Burgutuy Range, highest point 2000 m
 * Zagan Range, highest point 1382 m
 * Western Malkhan Range, highest point 1741 m
 * Monostoy Range, highest point 1173 m
 * Khambin Range, highest point 1420 m
 * Khudan Range, highest point 1327 m
 * Tsagan-Daban, highest point 1431 m
 * Lesser Khamar-Daban (southern slopes only)
 * Ulan-Burgas (eastern and southern slopes only)
 * 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 150 km and a width of 20 km
 * Gusinoozyor Basin, with a length of 50 km and a width of 12 km
 * Tugnuy-Sukhara Depression, with a length of 140 km and a width of 30 km
 * 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 500 m to 700 m are brown, from 700 m to 900 m black, and from 800 m to 1000 m 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 -0.5 C. Annual precipitation in the middle reaches of the Selenga River is between 210 mm and 250 mm. Further up the watershed of the river's tributaries it reaches 350 mm.