Greater Khingan


The Greater Khingan Range, is a volcanic mountain range in the Inner Mongolia region of Northeast China. The range extends roughly from northeast to southwest.

Geography

The area has an elevation of, and the highest peak Huanggangliang reaches. The range is much broader in the north, at, than it is in the south, at. It was formed during the Jurassic Period, and is essentially a tilted fault block; its ancient fault line forms its eastern edge, facing the Northeast China Plain. The ranges are markedly asymmetrical, with a sharp eastern face and a more gentle western slope down to the Mongolian Plateau at an elevation of. The eastern slopes are more heavily dissected by the numerous tributaries of the Nen and Songhua rivers, but generally the mountains are rounded with flat peaks. The ranges are composed largely of igneous rocks.

Population

Its slopes are a relatively rich grazing area. The Khitan people lived on the eastern slopes before establishing the Liao Dynasty in the tenth century. On the western slopes lived the nomadic people, who raised sheep and camels and used the Mongolian plateau for their pastoralist economy.
Much of the area is inhabited by peoples speaking Mongol and, in the north, Tungusic languages, such as the Oroqen people and the Evenk people. Logging continues to be the major economic activity.