Kalmyk Steppe
Encyclopedia
Kalmuk Steppe, or Kalmyk Steppe is a steppe
of approximately 100,000 km², bordering the northwest Caspian Sea
, bounded by the Volga on the N.E., the Manych on the S.W. and the territory of the Don Cossacks
on the N.W. The historic home to the Kalmuck or Kalmyk Tatars
, it is in the Federal subject
of Astrakhan Oblast
.
The western Kalmuck Steppe occupied by the Ergeni hills, is deeply trenched by ravines and rises 300 and occasionally 630 ft. above the sea. It is built up of Tertiary deposits, belonging to the Sarmatian division of the Miocene
period and covered with bess and black earth, and its escarpments represent the old shore-line of the Caspian
. No Caspian deposits are found on or within the Ergeni hills. These hills exhibit the usual black earth flora, and they have a settled population.
The eastern part of the steppe is a plain, lying for the most part 30 to 40 ft. below the level of the sea, and sloping gently towards the Volga. Post-Pliocene Aral-Caspian deposits, containing the usual fossils (Hydrobia, Neritina, eight species of Cardium, two of Dreissena, three of Adacna and Lithoglyp/zus caspius), attain thicknesses varying from 105 ft. to 7 or 10 ft., and disappear in places. Lacustrine and fluviatile deposits occur intermingled with the above. Large areas of moving sands exist near Enotayevsk, where high dunes or barkhans have been formed.
A narrow tract of land along the coast of the Caspian, known as The Hillocks of Baer, is covered with hillocks elongated from west to east, perpendicularly to the coast-line, the spaces between them being filled with water or overgrown with thickets of reed, Salix, Ulmus campesiris, almond trees, etc. An archipelago of little islands is thus formed close to the shore by these mounds, which are backed on the N. and N.W. by strings of salt lakes, partly desiccated. Small streams originate in the Ergenis, but are lost as soon as they reach the lowlands, where water can only be obtained from wells. The scanty vegetation is a mixture of the flora of south-east Russia and that of the deserts of central Asia.
As of 1911, the steppe had an estimated population of 130,000 persons, living in over 27,700 kibitkas, or felt tents. There were many Buddhist monasteries
. Part of the Kalmucks were settled (chiefly in the hilly parts), the remainder being nomads. In 1943 the people were forcibly deported (see Kalmykia
).
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
of approximately 100,000 km², bordering the northwest Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
, bounded by the Volga on the N.E., the Manych on the S.W. and the territory of the Don Cossacks
Don Cossacks
Don Cossacks were Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don.- Etymology and origins :The Don Cossack Host was a frontier military organization from the end of the 16th until the early 20th century....
on the N.W. The historic home to the Kalmuck or Kalmyk Tatars
Kalmyk people
Kalmyk people is the name given to the Oirats, western Mongols in Russia, whose descendants migrated from Dzhungaria in 1607. Today they form a majority in the autonomous Republic of Kalmykia on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. Kalmykia is Europe's only Buddhist government...
, it is in the Federal subject
Federal subjects of Russia
Russia is a federation which, since March 1, 2008, consists of 83 federal subjects . In 1993, when the Constitution was adopted, there were 89 federal subjects listed...
of Astrakhan Oblast
Astrakhan Oblast
Astrakhan Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Astrakhan.-Demographics:Population: Ethnic groups...
.
The western Kalmuck Steppe occupied by the Ergeni hills, is deeply trenched by ravines and rises 300 and occasionally 630 ft. above the sea. It is built up of Tertiary deposits, belonging to the Sarmatian division of the Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
period and covered with bess and black earth, and its escarpments represent the old shore-line of the Caspian
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
. No Caspian deposits are found on or within the Ergeni hills. These hills exhibit the usual black earth flora, and they have a settled population.
The eastern part of the steppe is a plain, lying for the most part 30 to 40 ft. below the level of the sea, and sloping gently towards the Volga. Post-Pliocene Aral-Caspian deposits, containing the usual fossils (Hydrobia, Neritina, eight species of Cardium, two of Dreissena, three of Adacna and Lithoglyp/zus caspius), attain thicknesses varying from 105 ft. to 7 or 10 ft., and disappear in places. Lacustrine and fluviatile deposits occur intermingled with the above. Large areas of moving sands exist near Enotayevsk, where high dunes or barkhans have been formed.
A narrow tract of land along the coast of the Caspian, known as The Hillocks of Baer, is covered with hillocks elongated from west to east, perpendicularly to the coast-line, the spaces between them being filled with water or overgrown with thickets of reed, Salix, Ulmus campesiris, almond trees, etc. An archipelago of little islands is thus formed close to the shore by these mounds, which are backed on the N. and N.W. by strings of salt lakes, partly desiccated. Small streams originate in the Ergenis, but are lost as soon as they reach the lowlands, where water can only be obtained from wells. The scanty vegetation is a mixture of the flora of south-east Russia and that of the deserts of central Asia.
As of 1911, the steppe had an estimated population of 130,000 persons, living in over 27,700 kibitkas, or felt tents. There were many Buddhist monasteries
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
. Part of the Kalmucks were settled (chiefly in the hilly parts), the remainder being nomads. In 1943 the people were forcibly deported (see Kalmykia
Kalmykia
The Republic of Kalmykia is a federal subject of Russia . Population: It is the only Buddhist region in Europe. It has also become well-known as an international chess mecca because its former President, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, is the head of the International Chess Federation .-Geography:*Area:...
).