The Altai Mountains (Altay Mountains) are a mountain range in East-Central Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their sources. The Altai Mountains are known as the original locus of the speakers of Turkic as well as other members of the proposed Altaic language group. The northwest end of the range is at 52° N and between 84° and 90° E (where it merges with the Sayan Mountains to the east), and extends southeast from there to about 45° N and 99° E, where it gradually becomes lower and merges into the high plateau of the Gobi Desert.
In Turkic and Mongolic languages, the name, Altai, means the "Golden Mountain"; al meaning gold and tai, mountain. Altay means "red (=al) horse (=tay)" in Turkish (Chinese: 金山; literally "Gold Mountain" in Chinese texts). The proposed Altaic language family takes its name from this mountain range.
Read more about Altai Mountains: Geography, History and Prehistory, World Heritage Site, Geology
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