SHIKHANY

SHIKHANY, single residual mountains, surfacing reef masses. They are located on the right bank of the Belaya River on 20 km stretch. The following relicts and plants, included in The Red List of the RB, grow here: Astragalus helmii, Dianthus acicularis, Limonium caspium, Hedysarum grandiflorum, Asplenium rutamuraria, Koeleria sclerophylla and other plants. They are inhabited by: Spermophilus major, butterflies (apollo butterfly, Papilio podalirius, Coenonympha pamphilus, etc), grasshoppers, etc.

Kushtau (from Bashkir “kush” means “steam room”, “tau” means “mountain”), located 0.5 km SW of Derevnya Shikhany of Sterlitamak Raion. Abs. alt. — 374 m, length — 4 km, width — 1.4 km. It is shaped as an elongated hill with 2 summits. The western slope is steep, the eastern slope is gentle.

Tratau (from early Bashkir “tora” means “fortress”, “town”; “tau” means “mountain”), a natural monument (1965), located 9.6 km from Ishimbay. Abs. alt. — 406.0 m, length — 1.2 km, width — 0.8 km. The shape is trapezoidal. The slopes at the foot are steep. There are several small caves in the upper part of W and SW slopes, Tugar-Salgan Lake is located at the foot. At the south slope between 1948—53 there was a special camp 0016 for prisoners who extracted limestone for the construction of OOO Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat.

Shakhtau, Shaketau, is located on the right bank of the Seleuk River (basin of the Belaya River), 5 km E of Sterlitamak. Abs. alt. before mining — 336 m, length — 1.3 km. The shape is elongated, the slopes are steep. Since the middle of the 20th century the deposits have been mined as raw materials for OAO Bashkir Soda Company.

Yuraktau (in translation from the Bashkir “yrіk” means “heart”, “tau” means “mountain”), a natural monument (1985), located 7 km SE of Sterlitamak, 1 km to the west from Derevnya Yuraktau of Sterlitamak Raion. Abs. alt. — 336 m, length — 1.0 km, width — 0.8 km. Its shape is conical. The slopes at the feet are steep, rocky, without ledges. They are covered with slide rocks. The W slope is steep, the S slope is rocky, the N slope is covered with forest; there are springs at the base of the N slope.