{{Short description|Mountain range in Buryatia}} {{Infobox mountain |name= Akitkan |other_name =Акиткан |image= Akitkan ONC D-6.jpg |image_caption= Akitkan Range ONC map section |image_size= |country=Russia |region_type=Federal subject |region=Buryatia /<br> Irkutsk Oblast |parent=North Baikal Highlands<br>South Siberian System |borders_on= |highest= Unnamed |elevation_m= 2067 |coordinates = {{coord|56|14|N|108|49|E|type:mountain|format=dms}} |length_orientation = SSW / NNE |length_km=200 |width_km=60 |area_km2= |range_coordinates = {{coord|56|50|N|109|0|E|type:mountain|format=dms|display=inline,title}} |geology=Granite, volcanic rock |age= |orogeny= |map=Russia Irkutsk Oblast#Russia Buryatia |map_size= |map_caption= Location in Irkutsk Oblast | easiest_route= From Mama Airport }} The '''Akitkan Range''' ({{langx|ru|хребет Акиткан}}; {{lang-zh|阿基特坎山}}) is a mountain range in Irkutsk Oblast and Buryatia, Russian Federation.<ref name="GЕ">Google Earth</ref>
The Paleoproterozoic Akitkan Orogen is named after the range.<ref>[https://research.monash.edu/en/publications/paleoproterozoic-magmatic-and-metamorphic-events-link-yangtze-to- Paleoproterozoic magmatic and metamorphic events link Yangtze to northwest Laurentia in the Nuna supercontinent]</ref>
==History== Between 1855 and 1858 Ivan Kryzhin (d. 1884) took part in the Eastern Siberian expedition led by Russian astronomer and traveler Ludwig Schwarz. In 1857 he mapped the Kirenga River and, while exploring its right tributary, the Cherepanikha, Kryzhin discovered the formerly unknown Akitkan Range rising above the area of its source.<ref>Magidovich, IP and Magidovich, VI. ''Essays on the History of Geographical Discoveries,'' 3rd ed. in 5 volumes, M., 1982 - 86, Vol. 4 Geographical discoveries and researches of the Modern Era (XIX - the beginning of the XX century), M., 1985, pp. 60, 95 - 96.</ref>
The North Baikal Highlands, where the range rises, were explored between 1909 and 1911 by Russian geologist Pavel Preobrazhensky (1874 - 1944). He surveyed the river valley of the Chechuy, a right tributary of the Lena with its sources in the Akitkan.<ref name="FGS">[http://tapemark.narod.ru/geograf/4_2_7.html Физическая география СССР - Байкальско-Становая область]</ref> Overcoming numerous difficulties, Preobrazhensky managed to map for the first time a {{convert|175|km|sp=us}} stretch of the Akitkan Range.<ref>[http://irkipedia.ru/content/preobrazhenskiy_pavel_ivanovich_istoricheskaya_enciklopediya_sibiri_2009 Preobrazhensky, Pavel Ivanovich — "Historical Encyclopedia of Siberia" (2009)]</ref>
==Geography== The Akitkan stretches roughly northwards for over {{convert|200|km|mi}} from the northern end of the Baikal Range, northwest of Lake Baikal. It is limited by the Cis-Baikal Depression (предбайкальская впадина) to the west, the Lena to the north and the Chaya river valley to the east.<ref>[https://urok.1sept.ru/articles/598503 Тектоническое строение и рельеф Иркутской области]</ref> To the southeast rises the Synnyr. The highest summit is a {{convert|2067|m|ft}} high unnamed peak located at the southern end, west of the Ungdar Range. The heights of the range summits decrease from circa {{convert|2000|m|ft}} in the southern section to {{convert|1600|m|ft}} in the northern.<ref name="STM"/>
===Hydrography=== The Chechuy, a Lena tributary, as well as numerous tributaries of the Kirenga, such as the Minya, Okunayka and Kutima, have their sources in the range.<ref name="STM">{{cite web|url=https://maps.vlasenko.net/smtm1000/o-49.jpg|title=Топографска карта O-49; M 1:1 000 000 - Topographic USSR Chart (in Russian)|access-date=15 April 2022}}</ref>
==Akitkan Orogen== The Akitkan Orogen forms a suture between the Anabar Shield to the northwest and the Aldan Shield to the southeast.<ref>[https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Schematic-map-of-ancient-terrains-and-kimberlitic-fields-in-the-Siberian-craton-with-the_fig1_283193510 Schematic map of ancient terrains and kimberlitic fields in the Siberian craton]</ref><ref>[https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Schematic-map-of-the-Siberian-craton-showing-boundaries-of-the-craton-1-and-its_fig11_27202807 Schematic map of the Siberian craton showing boundaries of the craton and its terranes]</ref> It is a feature of the Siberian Craton known only from geophysical data along most of its extent because it is covered by younger rocks.<ref>John J. W. Rogers, M. Santosh, Madhava Warrier Santosh, ''Continents and Supercontinents'', p. 230</ref>
==See also== *List of mountains and hills of Russia
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://cis-geology.org/activity/cis_maps/ncea/metallogenic_map/Metallogenic_map_Explanatory_Note2017.pdf Metallogeny of Northern, Central and Eastern Asia (Explanatory Note to the Metallogenic map of Northern–Central–Eastern Asia and Adjacent Areas at scale 1:2,500,000), St. Petersburg 2017]
Category:Mountain ranges of Russia Category:Mountains of Irkutsk Oblast Category:Mountains of Buryatia Category:South Siberian Mountains