VERKHOYANSK MOUNTAINS

also spelled Verkhoiansk, or Verchojansk, Russian Verkhoyansky Khrebet, mountains of Yakutiya, far northeastern Russia, extending for 700 mi (1,100 km) in a huge arc parallel to, and east of, the lower Lena River to the Laptev Sea. The range represents a major anticlinal structure, created in a period of folding. Its height generally exceeds 3,300 ft (1,000 m), reaching a maximum of 7,838 ft (2,389 m). The mountains are in sparse tundra vegetation of mosses and lichens. No routes cross the range, and the area is virtually uninhabited.