Barguzin Basin

Barguzin Basin 

an intermontane basin in the Buriat ASSR lying between the Barguzin and Ikatskii ranges. The basin stretches more than 200 km from the southwest to the northeast and is up to 35 km wide. The elevation of the floor is 470–600 m. The Barguzin Basin is a northern “island” of steppe and forest steppe landscapes among the mountain taiga of the Transbaikal area. The central low portion of the Barguzin Basin is a swamp-meadow river plain up to 15 km wide. The right bank of the Barguzin River is a sloping plain with a relative elevation to 100–200 m, formed by alluvial fans and covered with a forest steppe and pine forests. The left bank is a more even surface with fine-sod grassy steppes which alternate with pine forests that have meadow areas. In the northeast there are mixed larch-pine forests. The steppe territories have been plowed up, and the forest steppes along the slopes are used as pastures.