KARATAU

KARATAU (in translation from the Bashkir — black mountain), a ridge. It is extended sublatitudinally from the Shardaly River (tributary of the Yuruzan River) to the latitudinal flow of the Saldybash River in Nurimanovsky, Salavatsky raions of the RB and the Chelyabinsk Oblast. Length — 80 km, width of the western part — 10—13 km, central part — 5—6 km, eastern part — 8—10 km, abs. alt. — 691 m [A(d)zhigardak]. Rivers B. Ayr (tributary of Yuryuzan), Asha, Minyar (tributaries of the Sim River), Saldybash and others originate on the slopes. Landscapes in the eastern part are represented by secondary birch and spruce forests, in the western part — by conifer broadleaf forests on sod‑podzolic soils and light gray forest soils.