RUSSIA - ALTAI KRAI / Алтайский край

Altai Krai (Russian: Алта́йский край, tr. Altaysky krayis a federal subject of Russia (a krai). It borders clockwise from the west, Kazakhstan (East Kazakhstan Region and Pavlodar Region), Novosibirsk and Kemerovo Oblasts, and the Altai Republic. The krai's administrative center is the city of Barnaul. The region is named after the Altai mountains. In Russian, Altai Krai means the Altai region. Altai Krai has rolling foothills, grasslands, lakes, rivers, and mountains. The climate is severe with long cold dry winters and hot, usually dry summers. The region's main waterway is the Ob River. The Biya and Katun Rivers are also important. The biggest lakes are Lake Kulundinskoye, Lake Kuchukskoye, and Lake Mikhaylovskoye.  

Altai Krai has rich natural resources, including lumber, as well as significant mineral reserves. These include the nonferrous metals lead, manganese, tungsten, molybdenum, bauxite, and gold, as well as iron ore. Forests cover about 60,000 km² (23,000 sq mi) of the krai's land. See also Geography of South-Central Siberia. This region of Siberia is extremely important due to its biodiversity, an area of over 1.6 million hectares (16,000 square kilometres; 6,200 square miles) is recognised by Unesco as a world heritage site. The area is home to animals considered rare, including the endangered snow leopard.