Turan Range


The Turan Range is a range of mountains in far North-eastern Russia. Administratively it belongs partly to Amur Oblast and partly to the Khabarovsk Krai of the Russian Federation.

History

The range was formerly a remote area, first explored by Peter Carl Ludwig Schwarz during the East Siberian Expedition of 1855. It was mapped by Arseniy Usoltsev together with geological engineer Pyotr Gorlov in 1958.
A railway tunnel of the Baikal–Amur Mainline was built across the range.

Geography

The Turan is a range in northeastern Siberia, located in the southeastern end of Amur Oblast and the southwestern side of Khabarovsk Krai. It is part of the Yankan - Tukuringra - Soktakhan - Dzhagdy group of mountain ranges. Its ridges have a massive look, with rounded mountaintops.
The Turan Range divides the catchment area of the Selemdzha River to the west, and the Bureya River to the east. The range runs in a roughly NNE/SSW direction for about, and its northeastern part is deeply dissected by river valleys. The Tashina River has its sources in the range.
To the north the mountain chain connects with the Ezop Range and to the west and the southwest lies the Zeya-Bureya Lowland. The range of the White Mountains rises to the south. The highest point of the Turan is the high Middle Nanaki located near the northeastern end of the range.

Flora and fauna

The slopes of the range are covered by conifer forests, such as larch, fir and spruce up to altitudes ranging between and. Dwarf Siberian pine shrub grows in the higher elevations.
The range is part of the original habitat of the Amur cat.