General situation of physical geography

"Altay" is a Mongolian language, meaning "Jinshan", which is named after the rich gold resources in mountainous areas. There are 72 gullies in Altay, and there is gold in the gullies. Altay was a pastoral area of China ethnic minorities in ancient times.

Altay region is located in the hinterland of Eurasia, bordering the majestic Altay Mountain in the north, Sawuer Mountain in the southwest, Junggar Basin in the south, and the western part is open and trumpet-shaped.

The general geomorphological characteristics of Altay region are: high in the east and low in the west, high in the north and low in the south. The landform is complex and diverse, and it descends layer by layer from Altay ridge in the north to hilly plain in the south, with obvious stepped landform characteristics.

Mountains account for 32% of the total area, hilly valley plains account for 22%, and Gobi desert accounts for 46%. The highest elevation is 4374 meters (Friendship Peak), and the lowest elevation is 3 17 meters (Sangequan depression in Fuyun County). Mountains, glaciers, piedmont plains, basins and deserts constitute a complex and unique landscape in this area.

The mountainous areas in Altay mainly include Altay Mountain and Sawur Mountain. Basins and valleys mainly include northern and eastern Junggar basin, Muertai intermountain basin and Sawur valley. The plains mainly include: alluvial plain in front of Altai Mountain, alluvial plain in the middle reaches of Irtysh River-Wulungu River and denudation plain in the south of Wulungu River. There are two deserts in Altay, Gurbantonggut and Erqis River Valley, which are distributed in Junggar Basin in the south and Erqis River Valley between Altay and Sawuer Mountain in the west, with a total area of 837 1 km2, accounting for 7. 1 1% of the total area of the whole region.

Second, the climate characteristics

Altay region is located at high latitude and belongs to a typical temperate continental cold climate. Except Sawuer Mountain and Altai Mountain, the rest areas belong to the typical temperate desert grassland climate. It is characterized by dry and windy spring, short and hot summer, long and cold winter, less precipitation, large evaporation, large temperature difference between day and night, sufficient sunshine and monsoon all year round. The annual average temperature is 0.7℃ ~ 4.9℃, the extreme minimum temperature is 47.7℃, and the extreme maximum temperature is 42.2℃. Annual average precipitation 139.3 ~ 268.4 mm, annual evaporation 1397.3 ~ 2 140.4 mm, actual sunshine hours 2870 ~ 3 180 hours, frost-free period123 ~/.

Judging from the global wind belt and atmospheric circulation situation, Altay region is in the westerly belt. In winter, the air mass in the Arctic Ocean is controlled for a long time; In summer, the heating mass is active for a short period. Altay region is located in the hinterland of Eurasia, far from the ocean, with few sources of water and gas.

The summer sky in Altay is in the Siberian trough. At the bottom of the trough, it is often influenced by the split trough. With the cooperation of the trough of the southern branch and the development of the thermal depression in the southern continent, thunderstorms, hail and showers appear in this area in summer to form the atmosphere. The south-central plain in Altay region has four distinct seasons, with long winter and short summer. From above the shallow hills to below the glacier snow, there are no obvious four seasons, only cold and warm seasons.

In spring, the temperature in Altay region rises rapidly, which is dry and windy, unstable, warm in the day and cool in the night, and the temperature difference between normal and abnormal day and night is very different. It is cool in the mountains in summer, and there is no stable temperature obviously higher than 20℃. At the turn of spring and summer, the plain is warm, dry and rainy. Except for the desert area south of the Ulungu River, there is little hot summer weather in other areas.

In autumn, the weather is fine and the temperature drops suddenly. The first frost appeared in the mountainous area at the end of July and in the plain area in mid-September. At the end of September/the beginning of kloc-0/0, the first snow day appeared, and from the end of September to110, the land from Altai Mountain to the valley plain was frozen. Winter, long cold, windy and cold weather. At the southern foot of Altai Mountain, it reaches Sawuer Mountain and Fuhai County in the south, 10 to 12, with snow successively, and rivers and lakes are frozen.

Sunshine. The actual sunshine hours in Altay from May to August are 2743 ~ 3 158 hours, and the average sunshine hours in each month in the peak season of crop growth are all over 300 hours. From April to September, the cumulative average sunshine hours in each month of the crop growing season reached 1630 ~ 1920 hours.

Light energy. Altay region is rich in light energy resources. Although the latitude is high, the solar altitude angle is low, and the radiation per unit time is small, the solar radiation energy is high due to less rainy weather, good atmospheric transparency. The total radiation in hilly and plain areas is above 130 kcal/cm2.

Temperature. The terrain in Altay region is complex, and the temperature is distributed in a strip shape with the terrain. The temperature in mountains, plains, basins and deserts varies greatly.

The frost-free period in Altay is short, with an average of 136.5 days at the top of the mountain, Altay 153.5 days, and the northern slope of Sawuer Mountain 150 days.

Precipitation. The spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation in Altay region is uneven, with many mountains, few plains and hills, and few Junggar basins, with great regional differences. Altai Mountain is the largest precipitation area in China. The average annual precipitation in Sentas is about 650 mm, the maximum value in a year is about 700 mm, and the minimum value is 620 mm. The average annual precipitation in the northern mountainous area of Burqin County is 1065.4 mm. The average annual precipitation in Sawur Mountain area is 200 mm. The average annual precipitation in plains and hills is 120 ~ 170 mm, and the youngest is 60 mm.

Snowfall. The average annual snowfall days in Sentas of Altai Mountain are 92 days, 48 days in Jimunai County, 29 days in Fuhai County, and about 35 days in other places. The average annual snowfall in Altai Mountain area is 260mm, accounting for 40% of the total annual precipitation. The average annual snowfall in Jimunai County and the hilly area near the mountains is 50 ~ 70 mm, accounting for 24% ~ 365,438+0% of the total annual precipitation.

Evaporation. Except Altay Mountain and Sawuer Mountain, other areas in Altay are semi-arid and arid areas, with less natural precipitation and large evaporation. The average annual evaporation in the plain and in front of Sawuer Mountain is1475.5mm. In the neighboring areas of Lake Ulungu, Irtysh River and Brzin River, the annual evaporation is relatively small.

Three. Overview of natural resources

Altay region is rich in natural resources. It mainly includes land, woodland and grassland resources (Table 5- 1).

Land resources. 20 10 agricultural land area 145 193600 mu, construction land area of 4979200 mu, unused land area of 2639438+05000 mu. By the end of 20 10, the cultivated land in Altay was 3.75160,000 mu, of which 3.0449 million mu was local, accounting for 81.16%. 706,700 mu of the 10th Agricultural Division of the Corps.

Woodland resources. In 20 10 year, there were 234 1000 mu of forest land in Altay, including 9.8 million mu of forest land in mountainous areas, accounting for nearly 42%. The forest coverage rate is 13.2%.

Grassland resources. 20 10 Altay grassland area 1266 16900 mu, of which usable area 10859 mu accounts for 86%.

See Chapter 6 for details of mineral resources and tourism resources.

Table 5- 1 Main natural resources in Altay region 20 10

Source: Altay Regional Statistics Bureau and Altay Regional Statistical Yearbook (20 1 1).