The Soyot people live mainly in the Oka region in the Okinsky District in the Republic of Buryatia, Russia. According to the 2010 census, there were 3,608 Soyots in Russia. Their extinct language was of a Turkic type and basically similar to the Tuvans. Their language has been reconstructed and a textbook has been published. The language is currently taught in some schools in Oka. The Oka River, the largest river flowing down from the Western Sayans into the Angara is called the Ok-hem meaning "an arrow-river" by the Soyots of the Oka River basin.
Nebria is a genus of ground beetles native to the Palearctic, the Near East and North Africa.
Nebria livida is a species of ground beetle with two subspecies:
Nebria psammodes is a species of ground beetle in the Nebriinae subfamily.
Nebria tenella is a species of black coloured ground beetle in the Nebriinae subfamily that can be found in Georgia and Russia.
Nebria saurica is a species of ground beetle in the Nebriinae subfamily that is endemic to Kazakhstan. The species can be found in Tarbagatai and Saur Mountains, from which the name have been taken.
Nebria sawadai is a species of ground beetle in the Nebriinae subfamily that is endemic to Japan.
Nebria sahlbergi is a species of brown coloured ground beetle in the Nebriinae subfamily that can be found in Aleutian Islands, Canada, and in the southern part of the United States.
Nebria sajana is a species of ground beetle in the Nebriinae subfamily that can be found in Altai and Western Sayans. The name comes from the Sayan region where it lives.
Nebria reymondi is a species of ground beetle in the Nebriinae subfamily that is endemic to Morocco.
Nebria quezeli is a species of ground beetle in the Nebriinae subfamily that is endemic to northern part of Morocco.
Nebria pusilla is a species of black coloured ground beetle in the Nebriinae subfamily that is endemic to Japan. The species have 2 subspecies both of which can be found in the same nation; Nebria pusilla pusilla and Nebria pusilla yatsuana.
Nebria pontica is a species of ground beetle from Nebriinae subfamily that is endemic to Turkey.
Nebria paradisi is a species of ground beetle in the Nebriinae subfamily that can be found in the northern part US state of Oregon. On July 20, 1927, 3 species were discovered in Paradise Valley, Wisconsin. According to A. Smetana, the species are widespread throughout the United States. It used to be a synonym for Nebria vandykei.
Nebria fulgida is a species of ground beetle in the Nebriinae subfamily that can be found in Russian autonomous republics such as Khamar-Daban, Buryat Republic, and East Sayan. Females have either reddish or greenish coloured elytron and are 11 millimetres (0.43 in) in length.
The Altai-Sayan region is an area of central Asia proximate to the Altai Mountains and the Sayan Mountains, near to where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together. This region is one of the world centers of temperate plant diversity. Its biological, landscape, historical, cultural and religious diversity is unique. 3,726 species of vascular plants are registered in the region including 700 threatened or rare species, 317 of which are endemic; fauna consists of 680 species, 6% of which are endemic. Its ecosystem is comparatively unchanged since the last ice age, and it is the host of endangered species that include the saiga, nerpa, and snow leopard. It is the focus of ongoing international and regional environmental conservation initiatives.
Tunkinsky National Park is a national park located in south central Siberia, covers a mountainous region centered on the Irkut River valley that continues from the rift valley of Lake Baikal southwest to the border of Mongolia. To the north and west of the valley is the eastern edge of the Sayan Mountains. To the east are the lower Chamar-Daban mountains. About 1,183,662 hectares in size, the park occupies the entirety of the Tunkinsky District of the Republic of Buryatia. It is about 200 km southwest of the city of Irkutsk.
Azas Nature Reserve is a Russian 'Zapovednik', located in the central part of the Todzha basin of south-central Asia about 500 km west of Lake Baikal. The reserve stretches along the Azas River, and is situated in the Todzhinsky District of Tuva.
The Sayan Alpine meadows and tundra ecoregion is an ecoregion that covers the high areas of the Sayan mountains above the treeline, between the Altai Mountains in the west and Lake Baikal in the east. The area is remote and protects diverse species of alpine flora and fauna. It has an area of 846,149 square kilometres (326,700 sq mi).
