22. Altai Mountains • Russia

We have selected 100 unique places on Earth that are projected to
undergo profound changes within the next few generations.

We based our selection of the 100 places on the 4th Assessment
Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Simply by drawing attention to the beauty of these places, 100 Places to
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The 100 Places we have chosen to highlight, and the people who
live in them, are in serious danger because of rising sea levels, rising
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Among ambassadors are Joss Stone, Desmund Tutu for more info visit http://www.100places.com.

The Frozen Past of the Golden Mountains

In the Altai Mountains in Central Asia, 20-metre-tall burial mounds (kurgans) extend along the southern Siberian steppe. The worlds only frozen tombs, the kurgans have been preserved in their original condition by permafrost, bearing witness to the Scythian tribes, a nomadic, horse-riding people who dominated the Eurasian steppes during the first millennium BC.

The Altai Mountains rise where Russia, Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan converge. The Russian section of the mountain range is on UNESCOs World Heritage List because of its diverse vegetation, which varies from steppe to mixed forest to alpine vegetation. Altai means golden mountain an apt name given the priceless nature and culture of the region.

Occupying lands stretching from the Black Sea to the Mongolian Plain, the Scythians were herdsmen and warriors, fighting rival tribes with barbed, poisoned arrows. Women, probably young and unmarried, fought alongside the men and dressed in similar clothes.

Examinations of the kurgan tombs have revealed gold artefacts, weapons, animal (and sometimes human) sacrifices, all in perfect condition. Even organic material such as silk, wool and leather has survived intact, along with mummified human bodies. In one kurgan, archaeologists discovered the beautifully tattooed corpse of a woman wearing a silk blouse, who was later given the name The Ice Maiden.

The key to Scythian culture lies in the frozen tombs of the Golden Mountains. Many of the kurgans are located in an area where the permafrost is inconstant, making them extremely vulnerable to rising temperatures. In the last 100 years, temperatures have risen by between 1°C and 2°C and a significant reduction of the permafrost is predicted to take place in the middle of this century. As the permafrost melts away, so too will a unique natural habitat and its distinctive cultural heritage.

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[Bultuush1]

The Altai Mountains rise where Russia, Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan converge

[Barsbeg]

Sorry but I dont give a damn on the white mans catergorizations! The results are absolutely relative!

Hes destroying and doesnt care about the land - which is our mother - she is sacred to us!

Always talking about nice things and material - in his heart is darkness!

[MaLiveMaRulesMaGun]

@dimon108 we have culture, your nation learn the culture of the turks.

you are ridiculous. ,I Iaugh at you rock man ( neandertaler ) hahahah

[benacu]

motherland of the TURKS . TURANİA

[Kafatasci35]

AAh central asia.. My old homeland.. Keep dreaming of a return, always..

Greetings from Anatolia, another Turkish land! Always welcome Turkic brothers!

[modernDonQuiojete]

yea altai belongs to turkish nation

[volkanozada]

BİG TURK ALTAİ

[XinjiangNoExists]

@dimon108 anasini siktimin ibne rus götvereni

[dimon108]

@XinjiangNoExists

turkic homeland?! keep dreaming u moron.

[kelRapunzel]

@Barsbeg strongly agree with you

[XinjiangNoExists]

EVIL UNITED WESTERN/CHRISTIAN-ZIONIST & RUSSIAN & CHINESE & ISRAELI & IRANIAN BASTARDS WORLD STANDARD MAINSTREAM MEDIA LYING YOU THE WORLD. THIS IS NOT RUSSIA BUT THE HEART OF ANCIENT/NEW TURKIC CIVILIZATION SINCE OVER THOUSADS OF YEARS. SOVIET UNION IS DOWN AND BEST NAZI-ZIONIST NWO MEMBER EAST/WEST GERMANY IS FREED BUT NOT OCCUPIED TURKIC HOMELANDS, ALTAI IS ONLY ONE EXAMPLE. WHITE NAZI-ZIONIST-ORTHODOX RUSSIA, GO BACK HOME. FREEDOM ALSO TO YAKUTISTAN AND MANY OTHER TURKIC HOMELANDS OVER AS-IA

[Max3vil]

Just dig em up... no problem..