Nuratau
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Nuratau
a mountain range in Middle Asia, in the Uzbek SSR; one of the western spurs of the Gissar-Alai mountain system. In the south it borders on the Kyzylkum Desert. The Nuratau Range is 170 km long and has a maximum elevation of 2,169 m (Mount Zargar). The range is composed chiefly of schist. It has a flat crest, a steep and rocky northern slope, and a gentle southern slope. It is subdivided by small river valleys. The mountain steppes on the crest and shrub steppes on the slopes are used for pasture. In the valleys of the southern slope are oases with orchards, gardens, and irrigated fields.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.