Major Mountain Ranges of Russia

Russia's vast territory spans multiple major mountain systems. Here are the principal ranges, west to east:

Key Ranges

1. Ural Mountains — 2,500 km N-S; traditional Europe/Asia divide; highest: Mt. Narodnaya (1,895 m). Rich in minerals.
2. Caucasus Mountains — SW Russia; Europe's highest: Mt. Elbrus (5,642 m); volcanic, glaciated; border Georgia/Azerbaijan.
3. Altai Mountains — S Siberia; Russia/Mongolia/China/Kazakhstan; highest: Belukha (4,506 m); UNESCO, biodiversity.
4. Sayan Mountains — E of Altai; W Sayan, E Sayan; highest: Munku-Sardyk (3,491 m); taiga, permafrost.
5. Stanovoy Range — E Siberia; separates Lena/Aldan basins; border with Yakutia; highest: Skalisty (2,412 m).
6. Chersky Range — NE Siberia; highest: Pobeda (3,003 m); extreme cold, permafrost.
7. Verkhoyansk Range — N of Chersky; coldest inhabited places (Oymyakon, Verkhoyansk); highest: Mus-Khaya (2,959 m).
8. Kamchatka Range — Kamchatka Peninsula; volcanic (Klyuchevskaya Sopka 4,754 m — Eurasia's highest active volcano); 160+ volcanoes, 29 active.

Other Notable Systems

• Kolyma, Chukotka, Sikhote-Alin (Far East).
• Khibiny, Lovozero (Kola Peninsula — ancient, mineral-rich).
• Yablonovy, Stanovoy (Transbaikal).

Russia's mountains hold immense mineral wealth, climate-regulating forests, and Indigenous cultures—mostly remote, barely explored.