Where is the Aldan Highlands and what is it? It is to these questions that you can get answers if you read the material presented in this article.
Geographic location
On the territory of the modern Republic of Sakha there is a highland called Aldan. This landform is a medium elevation. If you look at the map, it is located on the northern outskirts of the Stanovoy Ridge, between two large rivers of Siberia - the Uchura and the Olekma.
Characteristic
The Aldan Highlands is a tectonic shield of the Precambrian period. It is located on the Siberian platform. The structure of the tectonic shield consists mainly of Proterozoic shales and gneisses. Almost everywhere on the territory of the highlands, formations of the crystalline basement, which are represented by gneisses, quartzites and marbles, come to the surface. These crystalline rocks are overlain by layers of fine granite. It is worth noting that each of them was formed in different geological periods.
Aldan highland has smooth, smooth slopes. Only its northern side is subject to a slightfoundation.
Relief features
The relief of the Aldan Highlands itself is represented by low table-stepped hills. Their average height is 800-1200 m. The highest point is a mountain that has no name, 2306 m high. Ancient volcanic activity had a great influence on the formation of the stepped relief of the highlands. The fact that volcanoes often erupted in this place is evidenced by the remaining traces of their activity.
Orographically, the highlands are elongated in the latitudinal direction. Along its entire length, there are lines of tectonic faults of the platform, in which river valleys are located.
Mineral resources of the Aldan Highlands
The terrain of this highland is poorly studied. An obstacle to this is the harsh climate and permafrost zones. But despite this, in the last century, rich mineral deposits were found in this territory. Now the Aldan Highlands is a place that is a "gold vein" for Yakutia. In the 20s. of the last century, quite by accident, a Yakut hunter found gold deposits near the stream. As it turned out later, these are the largest gold ore basins in the Russian Federation.
In addition to these deposits, copper and iron ores, mica and rock crystal have been explored and are currently being mined. The Aldan Highlands are also rich in coal deposits. Its deposits are located on the southern slope. However, coal mining is difficult here due to weather conditions.
