OIRAT AUTONOMOUS AREA, an administrative di vision of the Russian S.F.S.R., created in 1922, within the Siberian area, bounded by Kazakstan on the south-west and Mongolia, with the Mongolian Tannu-Tubinsk republic on the south and east, and by the Siberian area on the north. Area 91,200 sq.km. Pop. (1926) about 1oo,000. It lies between 49° 5' and 52° 4' N. and 84° and 55' E., and is entirely rural, the administrative centre Oirat Tura, on Katun river, with 5,726 inhabitants in 1926. The area is mountainous, lying in the Altai region of West Siberia, which forms part of the Alpine highlands bordering the Mongolian plateau. Within it lies Mount Byelukha, whose sum mits rise to 14,890 feet and 14,560 feet respectively, and on which several glaciers exist. Numerous spurs strike from the Sailu ghem mountains towards the Siberian plain in all directions, amongst which are the Chuya Alps, average altitude 9,00o feet, with peaks rising to I2,000 feet, and at least so glaciers on the northern slope, and the snow clad Katun Alps ( o,000 feet). The Katun river rises in a glacier in a wild gorge on the south-west slope of Byelukha and, after making a wide curve, pierces the Katun range and flows to the north. The upper course of the Biya, which with the Katun later forms the Ob, lies in the Oirat area. The Biya flows from the beautiful alpine Lake Teletskoye, to the south of which are the high Bashkaus, Chulyshman and Chul cha valleys all draining into the lake. The Kok-su and the Argut are the chief among the numerous tributaries of the Katun.
The climate is severe, average winter temperature —13° to —16° C, summer 16° to 18° C. The maximum rainfall is in the Chernevoi district of the north-east, on the right bank of the Katun river, thickly forested with Siberian cedar and fir. In the north-west the conifers are mixed with birch, poplar and as pen. The Chuya, Kurai and Chulyshman Alps lie above the tree limit and have much tundra. The soils are mainly bog, mea dow, rubble and forest clays; their poor character, the short vegetation period and the drought of the region under the influence of winds from Mongolia make cultivation difficult. Wheat and oats, with a little barley, rye, millet, flax, hemp, buckwheat and potato are grown, but only io%, of the area is under cultivation.
Primitive irrigation channels had rendered crop production pos sible in the Uimonsk district in the bend of the Katun river, but during the civil war following the 1917 revolution, the irrigation canals were ruined and have not yet been restored. Grain has to be imported, but the absence of railway or steamer transport makes its cost heavy and many peasants cannot purchase it, especially as war conditions heavily depleted flocks and herds, horses and mules being still far below pre-war level. This is a disaster as many of the natives depended on transport in connec tion with the trade between Kobdo in Mongolia and Biisk in Siberia for supplementary income.
Forest fires and reckless exploitation for army purposes di minished the timber in accessible places and also reduced the number of fur-bearing animals, already diminishing in pre-war times through intensive hunting. Squirrel, bear, fox, ermine and sable are the chief fur-bearing animals of the region. The col lection of cedar nuts for the oil pressing factories of Siberia, formerly an important occupation, was also affected by the causes given above. Timber, in any case, is difficult to exploit in the absence of transport facilities in a wild and rocky country. The chief occupation of the people is stock-raising, horses, working and dairy cattle, sheep, goats and pigs being bred. War conditions, followed by a period when troops of bandits infested the region, not only destroyed many of the best breeds, but caused the herdsmen to cross into Mongolia, with their remaining cattle and flocks. Epizootic diseases are prevalent, possibly because of their spread along the road from Mongolia. Milk and meat, with fer mented mare's milk (kumiss) form the staple diet of the people. Raw leather with butter from the farms of the Russian settlers, are exported to a small extent. Meat and wool are used locally, for peasant industries have to supply local needs of homespun, felt, wooden and leather articles and flour and cheese. There is no factory industry. Beekeeping is profitable among the Russian settlers, and is increasing. The maral deer, from whose horns a substance called panty, used as a medicine in China, is obtained, is kept by the natives.