Mongolian Plateau

The Mongolian Plateau or Altai Plateau is an inland plateau in East Asia covering approximately 3,200,000 square kilometers (1,200,000 mi2). It is bounded by the Greater Hinggan Mountains in the east, the Yin Mountains to the south, the Altai Mountains to the west, and the Sayan and Khentii mountains to the north. The plateau includes the Gobi Desert as well as dry steppe regions. It has an elevation of roughly 1,000 to 1,500 meters (3,300 to 4,900 ft), with the lowest point in Hulunbuir and the highest point in the Altai. Politically, the plateau spans all of Mongolia, along with parts of China and Russia. Inner Mongolia and parts of the Dzungarian Basin in Xinjiang encompass the Chinese portion of the plateau. In Russia, the plateau forms Transbaikal, part of Buryatia, and the southern Irkutsk Oblast. The Mongolian Plateau comprises the majority of the area known as the Mongol heartland.