The Chuya Steppe () in the

Siberian Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states si ...

Altai Mountains The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The ...

is a depression formed by

tectonic Tectonics ( via Latin ) are the processes that result in the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. The field of ''planetary tectonics'' extends the concept to other planets and moons. These processes ...

movement of major faults in the Earth's crust. Its name comes from the large river which runs through the

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...

, the

Chuya The Chuya (; , ''Çuy'') is a river in the Altai Republic in Russia, a right tributary of the Katun ( Ob's basin). The Chuya is long, and its drainage basin covers . The river freezes in October or early November and thaws in late April. The t ...

River.

Major settlements

Kosh-Agach Kosh-Agach (; , ''Koş-Agaş''; , ''Qosağaş'') is a rural locality (a selo) and the administrative center of Kosh-Agachsky District of the Altai Republic, Russia. Population: Geography Climate According to the Köppen Climate Classification, ...

is a major village in the north of the steppe. Other large settlements include Chaganuzun and Beltir.

Geology

The Chuya Steppe is filled with

Cenozoic The Cenozoic Era ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterized by the dominance of mammals, insects, birds and angiosperms (flowering plants). It is the latest of three g ...

sediments, derived from the surrounding mountains of the

Chuya Belki Chuya Belki (, ''Chuyskye byelki'') is a mountainous region in the Altai, Altai Republic, Russia. There are a number of glaciers on the northern part of the slopes of the main ridges. The Chuya Belki are named after the Chuya River and after the ...

Seismicity

The 7.3 Altai earthquake shook

South Central Siberia South Central Siberia is a geographical region in North Asia, just north of the meeting point between Russia, China, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. The Four Corners At approximately , the borders of Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan inters ...

with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''), causing $10.6–33 million in damage, three deaths, and five injuries. Grasslands of Russia Geography of Siberia Natural history of Siberia Depressions of Russia Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Geography of the Altai Republic {{Siberia-geo-stub