The area has three parts: Manchuria, Mongolia and Dzungaria. The core of the area is Mongolia, not only the Outer Mongolia that we see on maps but also Inner Mongolia and much of Gansu which are now part of China. The Gobi Desert or semi-desert separates Outer and Inner Mongolia. The best grazing lands are in the north around such places as the Orkhon River and Onon Rivers. To the east the steppe extends into Manchuria but does not reach the coast because of mountains and moisture from the Pacific. The Manchurian steppe merges northward to a deciduous forest-steppe and then the coniferous forest of Siberia. To the south it merges into agricultural China. In the west Dzungaria or northern Xinjiang is a westward extension of Mongolia. To the west of that the Dzungarian Gate leads to the extensive steppes of Kazakhstan, particularly the region of Jetysu.