Kigilyakhs, rock formations that are an important element of the culture of the Yakuts, are found in the Suor Uyata range.[3] 40 kilometers (25 mi) to the ESE of the eastern end of the range, on the right bank of the Alazeya River, rises the 327 metres (1,073 ft) high Kisilyakh-Tas, another important Kigilyakh site.[4][5]
History
The Suor Uyata was first mapped in the summer of 1870 by geographer and ethnologist Baron Gerhard von Maydell (1835–1894) during his pioneering research of East Siberia.[6]
Geography
The Suor Uyata rises in the northwestern area of the Kolyma Lowland, only 20 kilometers (12 mi) to the east of the eastern end of the Ulakhan-Sis Range. It is a smaller range than the latter, of which it can be considered an eastern prolongation.[2]
The main ridge stretches in a roughly WNW/ESE direction for about 60 kilometers (37 mi). Its highest summit is the 512 metres (1,680 ft) high Salyr-Tas.[2] To the north rises the Ulakhan-Tas (Улахан-Тас),[7] a ridge that stretches roughly northwards for about 40 kilometers (25 mi), whose tallest peak is 576 metres (1,890 ft) high.[1][5]
The Suor Uyata is surrounded on all sides by marshy areas with slow-flowing rivers and a multitude of lakes. The sources of several rivers are on the range, including the Bolshaya Khomus-Yuryakh, Maly Khomus-Yuryakh, Kumuruk-Yuryakh, Soldat and Bya, as well as some source area tributaries of the Sundrun River on the western side.[5]