Aldan Highlands


The Aldan Highlands, or Aldan Plateau are a mountainous area in the Sakha Republic, Far Eastern Federal District, Russia.
The Olyokma Nature Reserve is a protected area located on the northwestern side, partly within the neighboring Lena Plateau.

History

The area of the Aldan and the Yudoma-Maya highlands, between the basins of the Aldan River and the Yudoma, was uncharted territory well until the 1930s. It was first surveyed in 1934 by geologist Yuri Bilibin together with mining engineer Evgeny Bobin in the course of an expedition sent by the government of the USSR. Bilibin and Bobin made a thorough topographic survey of the mountainous region leading separate research parties.

Geography

The Aldan Highlands are located at the southern end of the Sakha Republic, between the Aldan River and the Uchur River. The Aldan partly crosses the uplands in the north, in the same manner as the Amga River in the west. The highlands are limited by the Stanovoy Range to the southwest, south and southeast, and by the Olyokma River in the northwest, beyond which lies the Lena Plateau. Besides the Aldan and the Amga, the rivers of the highlands include the Buotama, the Amedichi, the Elkon, the Ulu, the Bolshoy Nimnyr, the Timpton and the Tuolba.
Aldan town and Tommot are located in the northern area of the highlands and Chulman in the south.

Subranges

The system of the Aldan Highlands comprises a number of subranges. Mountains are of middle height and their relief is usually smooth. The highest point is an unnamed summit. The ranges within the uplands include the following:
The highlands are composed of Archean crystalline slates and gneisses. The Aldan Highlands coincide geographically with the Aldan Shield, a geological region that is an exposed part of the Siberian Craton. Together with the Anabar Shield further to the northwest, the Aldan Shield is one of the main features of the craton.

Flora

The mountains of the highlands are covered by larch taiga up to elevations between 1,100 and 1,300 m and by rocky tundra at higher altitudes.