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Altai produces canned air, popular with tourists

In 2011, as many as 1,370 thousand tourists visited the Altai Mountains

GORNO-ALTAISK, January 22 (Itar-Tass) —— Russia’s Altai Republic has improved the ecology situation, and the air in the mountains has become less polluted, local branch of Russia’s consumer rights watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said having analysed the measurements it had made there

The republic even began producing an unusual product - "canned air", which is very popular with tourists.

"The improvement of air quality in the Altai Republic became possible after the region started using natural gas for boilers," – the local government said.

In 2011, as many as 1,370 thousand tourists visited the Altai Mountains.

The Altai Mountains in southern Siberia form the major mountain range in the western Siberia bio-geographic region and provide the source of its greatest rivers – the Ob and the Irtysh. Three separate areas are inscribed: Altaisky Zapovednik and a buffer zone around Lake Teletskoye; Katunsky Zapovednik and a buffer zone around Mount Belukha; and the Ukok Quiet Zone on the Ukok plateau. The total area covers 1,611,457 hectares. The region represents the most complete sequence of altitudinal vegetation zones in central Siberia, from steppe, forest-steppe, mixed forest, subalpine vegetation to alpine vegetation. The site is also an important habitat for endangered animal species such as the snow leopard.