Shihan or Shikhan ( ba, Шихан) 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. Cha ...

hills A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not a ...

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

Sterlitamak Sterlitamak ( rus, Стерлитама́к, p=stʲɪrlʲɪtɐˈmak; ba, Стәрлетамаҡ, translit=Stärletamaq; ) is the second largest city in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, located on the left bank of the Belaya River (Kama's ...

city in

Bashkortostan Republic The Republic of Bashkortostan or Bashkortostan ( ba, Башҡортостан Республикаһы, Bashqortostan Respublikahy; russian: Республика Башкортостан, Respublika Bashkortostan),; russian: Респу́блик� ...

, Russia. Prominently standing out of the landscape (akin to

butte __NOTOC__ 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 a F ...

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 processes—deposition (geology), deposition of ...

residues left by ancient seas and are composed of

sedimentary Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

. 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 Toratau ( ba, Торатау — «fortress mountain») - one of the four shihans, located in Ishimbaysky District, on the border with the city Sterlitamak. The remainder of the reef, the Lower Permian (Late Paleozoic) reef massif, formed over 2 ...

, Shakhtau,

Yuraktau Yuraktau ( ba, Йөрәктау — "heart mountain") is one of the four shihans, located in Ishimbaysky District, on the border with the city Sterlitamak Sterlitamak ( rus, Стерлитама́к, p=stʲɪrlʲɪtɐˈmak; ba, Стәрл� ...

and

Kushtau Kushtau ( ba, Ҡуштау — «twin mountain») – 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 The Cisuralian is the f ...

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

Ishimbay Ishimbay (russian: Ишимба́й; ba, Ишембай, translit=İşembay) is a town in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, located on the banks of the Belaya and Tayruk Rivers, south of Ufa. Population: Administrative and municipal s ...

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 dire ...

that formed in warm seas of early

Permian period The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and 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 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...

. 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. Talus deposits typically ha ...

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

File:Kushtau.jpg,

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

Hills of Russia

Shihans in Bashkortostan

See also