Turan-Uiuk Basin

an intermontane basin in the Zapadnyi Saian mountain system, in the Tuva ASSR. Bounded by the Kurtushibinskii Range in the north and the Uiuk Range in the south, the Turan-Uiuk Basin is about 80 km long and up to 30–40 km wide. Elevations vary from 700 to 1,100 m. The terrain is a hilly plain. The Uiuk River, a right tributary of the Bii-Khem, drains the area. Soils are dark chestnut and chernozem. Grass steppes and steppes of wormwood and grass predominate. There is both unirrigated and irrigated farming in the region, as well as stock raising. The city of Turan is located in the basin.