Southern Ural - the south, the widest part of the Ural Mountains, stretches from the river Ufa (near the village of Lower Ufaley) to the Ural River. From the west and east the Southern Ural is limited to the East European Plain, West Siberian Plain and the steppes near Aral Sea and Caspian Sea.
The relief of the Southern Urals is complex, with numerous valleys and parallel ridges directed south-west and meridionally. The range includes the Ilmensky Mountains separated from the main ridges by the Miass River. The maximum height is 1640m (5,380feet) (Mount Yamantau) and the width reaches 250km (160miles). Other notable peaks lie along the Iremel mountain ridge (Bolshoy Iremel and Maly Iremel), the Nurgush, highest point 1406m (4,613feet), and the Nakas, highest point 667.6m (2,190.3feet).[1] The Southern Urals extend some 550km (340miles) up to the sharp westward bend of the Ural River and terminate in the wide Mugodzhar Hills. The foothills of the Southern Urals extend up to 250km (160miles) with an average width between 40km (30miles) and 150km (90miles).[2]
The Southern Urals include lakes such as Zyuratkul.[3]