Shihan or Shikhan () is a hill or ridge of isolated

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...

hills A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as mountains. Hills fall und ...

that are stretched out along with the Belaya River, next to the

Sterlitamak Sterlitamak ( rus, Стерлитама́к, p=stʲɪrlʲɪtɐˈmak; ; ) is the second largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, located on the left bank of the Belaya River (Kama), Belaya ...

city in Bashkortostan Republic, Russia. Prominently standing out of the landscape (akin to

butte In geomorphology, a butte ( ) is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from the French l ...

s) they are notable local landmarks. In the Western Urals, the shihans geologically are

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

residues left by ancient seas and are composed of

sedimentary Sedimentary rocks are types of rock formed by the cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or deposited at Earth's surface. Sedime ...

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

. In the Urals, shihans are rocky peaks of the mountains. In the Volga region shihans often can be met on the slopes of river valleys.

Shihans in Bashkortostan

The ridge in Bashkortostan consist of four isolated mountains: Toratau, Shakhtau, Yuraktau and

Kushtau Kushtau () – is a shihan hill located in Ishimbaysky District along with Sterlitamak city's border, Russia. The mountain is a reef of an ancient tropical sea of the Lower Permian ( Late Paleozoic) period formed over 230 million years ago. Mini ...

, forming a narrow chain stretching along the Belaya River () for 20 km. The mountains are located nearby

Ishimbay Ishimbay (; ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, located on the banks of the Belaya River (Kama), Belaya and Tayruk Rivers, south of Ufa. Population: Administrative and municipal stat ...

and Salavat cities and are remnants of

Fringing reef A fringing reef is one of the three main types of coral reef. It is distinguished from the other main types, barrier reefs and atolls, in that it has either an entirely shallow backreef zone (lagoon) or none at all. If a fringing reef grows direc ...

that formed in warm seas of early

Permian period The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years, from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...

. The sediments have fossils that mostly consist of remains of ancient invertebrates. Shihans are characterized by mildly angled slopes of about 30° degrees and by having

scree Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits. The term ''scree'' is ap ...

towards the bottom. File:Toratau, Ishimbai district 986665.jpg, Toratau File:Kushtau.jpg,

Shihan (single hill) File:Гора Юрак-Тау с высоты 85м.jpg, Yuraktau Hills of Russia

Shihans in Bashkortostan

See also