Kharatas ridge

Kharatas [1][2][3] is a mountain range in the Kuznetsk Alatau[4] in the western part of the Ust-Abakansky district of the Republic of Khakassia.

Kharatas
Kharatas
Highest point
Elevation	2,211 m (7,254 ft)
Coordinates	53°55′30″N 89°23′28″E
Geography
Parent range	Kuznetsk Alatau

Waterfall on Lake Kharatas

The name is derived from the common Turkic kara (black) and Shor tas (naked).

The second order short mountain range [1] adjoins the main ridge spurs of Kuznetsk Alatau. The length is 35 km (22 mi) from the southwest to the northeast. Kharatas branches off from the main ridge of the Kuznetsk Alatau in the region of Mount Verkhny Zub 2,178 m (7,146 ft) [5] and is the watershed of the Kharatas and Bely Iyus rivers. Absolute heights increase from north to south, from 1,200 m (3,900 ft) to 2,211 m (7,254 ft) (mountain Staraya Krepost).[6][7][8] The southern section is represented by peneplanated dissected highlands 1,700 m (5,600 ft)–2,000 m (6,600 ft) dominated by tundra landscapes and fragments of subalpine meadows and light forests on tundra peaty and mountain meadow soils. The middle section 1,400 m (4,600 ft)–1,700 m (5,600 ft) is a steeply sloping middle mountain, deeply dissected, with dark coniferous forests. The northern part 800 m (2,600 ft)–1,400 m (4,600 ft) is a steeply sloping, strongly and moderately dissected, ridged, peneplainized lowland, with cedar-fir-spruce and pine-larch forests on the slopes. Kurums of the Kuznetsk Alatau cover the Karatas ridges.[9]

Popular destination for mountaineering, rock climbing, mountain tourism [10][11]