The Altai Mountains (/ɑːlˈtaɪ/), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their headwaters. The massif merges with the Sayan Mountains in the northeast, and gradually becomes lower in the southeast, where it merges into the high plateau of the Gobi Desert. It spans from about 45° to 52° N and from about 84° to 99° E.
The region is inhabited by a sparse but ethnically diverse population, including Russians, Kazakhs, Altais and Mongols, though predominantly represented by indigenous ethnic minorities of semi nomadic stock.[1] The local economy is based on bovine, sheep, horse husbandry, hunting, agriculture, forestry, and mining. The controversial Altaic language family takes its name from this mountain range.
