was founded in 1618. East: Minusinsk Depression The eastern part of South Central Siberia, between the Kuznetsk Alatau and the Sayan Mountains, includes the steppe of the Minusinsk Depression which is the core of Khakassia. The Yenisei River flows north through its center. The Abakan River flows from the base of the depression north and slightly east to the Yenisei at Abakan town, near where another river comes in from the east. Minusinsk town is a few kilometres east of Abakan. The Chulym River (Ob River) starts in the northwest corner of the depression, arcs into the Taiga north of the Alatau and joins the Ob River. East of the river is the southern tip of Krasnoyarsk Krai. This area was a center of the Afanasevo culture, a suggested homeland for the Tocharians. Later it was the home of the Yenisei Kirghiz, who gave their name to the Kirgiz further south. The Khakas of Khakassia may be their descendants. Southeast: Tuva East of the Altai and southeast of Minusinsk is Tuva. Tuva is bordered on the south by the Tannu-Ola Mountains, which separate it from the Mongolian Great Lakes Depression, on the west by the Altai, on the northwest by the Western Sayans which separate it from the Minusinsk Depression, on the north by the Eastern Sayans and on the east by mountains on the Mongolian border. The core area is the Tuva Depression, where Kyzyl is located, the capital city of the Tuva Republic. The Yenisei River flows west here and then breaks through the Western Sayans in a long narrow gorge which contains the Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam north of the Tuva border. Tuva was traditionally part of Mongolia, and only passed to the Soviet Union—Russia in the 20th century. Surrounding area To the north, South Central Siberia merges into the Siberian forests. To the south, South Central Siberia merges into the mountains along the former Sino-Soviet border. Dzungaria is directly to the south. To the west of South Central Siberia is the agricultural steppe of the Altai Krai with its Russian population. Here the Katun River and the Biya River join to form the Ob River. Further west, between the Ob and Irtysh Rivers are the Baraba steppe in the north and the Kalunda Steppe in the south. To the east, the Western and then Eastern Sayan Mountains extend east to the southern tip of Lake Baikal. Other information