Natural conditions and resources

The territory is divided into four zones by economic importance. Areas up to 400 m above sea level are the desert zone: forage is scarce so it is used for pasture herding, but oil, gas, sulphur, gold, phosphorite and building materials are plentiful there. The adyrs at 400–1200 m have a milder climate and humus-rich soil and are best for farming; people have lived there since ancient times, and rain-fed farming is practised on higher adyrs. In the mountain zone above 1200 m precipitation is high and summers are short; wild fruit trees grow, deposits (marble, tungsten, copper, brown coal) have been found, and it is used for recreation. In the pasture zone of the high mountains it is cold and snowy for most of the year, and suitable places are used for livestock. Rivers begin in the mountains and most of their yearly water flows in spring and early summer, so reservoirs are built. To protect land from salinization and gullies, drainage, leaching and crop rotation are applied as reclamation and agrotechnical measures.