Altay Forests

The forests of this wasteland lie along the Kan River, a right tributary of the Yenisei in the Kansk country of southern Siberia. The Kan drains about 36,900 square kilometres, and its valley forms the southern boundary of the Yenisei Range, a land of dark taiga, river terraces and forest-covered hills. Russian Cossacks founded a fort on the Kan in 1628 and moved it to its present site in 1636, making it a base for collecting fur tribute from the surrounding peoples.