Museum of local lore “Nature of Altai Mountains”

The museum was established in 1991 and represents a combination of the departments characterizing the components of the nature of the Altai Mountains.

 A spatially-geographical position of the area and the historical-informative section is presented in the division “History of studying of nature and orography of Altai.”

The section “Tectonics, Geological Structure, and Minerals” is represented by a series of cards, schemes, and geological cuts. It is supplemented by a collection called “Minerals and Rocks of Altai.”

The section of historical geology – “Paleogeography” displays a collection of a Paleontologic material - bones of Pleistocene animals - a mammoth (a lower jaw, a tusk, a shinbone, teeth), a bison (a frontal bone with horn outgrowths), an ancient buffalo (a frontal bone with horn outgrowths), a woolly rhinoceros (a skull, a femur, a vertebra), and a big horn deer (a horn part); fossils - inverterbrate (ammonitides, thunderbolts, coral polyps, molluscs, and sea lilies), and plants (calamites).

 "Relief" is a special section where different types and forms of relief are displayed.

 “Climate, ground waters, and glaciers” is a section with a number of maps, graphs, and diagrams that give the characteristics of different climates and their elements as reflection of landscapes and ground waters.

 A special section is devoted to soils, vegetation, and fauna, the bioresources that occupy a special place in the landscapes, human life, and activity of the Altai Mountains.

 The total of the museum’s collections counts 1255 units. They are replenished annually with materials discovered on field trips of students and scientific expeditions.

 The activity of the museum is closely connected with the teaching and educational process of the university. It promotes the preparation of competent experts in geography and natural sciences and focuses on the idea of modern geography constructed on a complex systematic approach of regional study of local lore – Altai studies.

The signature under a photo. A special pride of the museum is the crystal black Marion - a unique sample from the Altai Mountains. Its height is 42 cm, and its diameter is 17,5 cm.

Updated 07.10.2019 by N. Yurkova