Kurai
Kurai
a mountain range of the eastern Altai in the Gorno-Altai Autonomous Oblast, forming the watershed between the Bashkaus and Chuia rivers. Elevation, to 3,412 m; length, about 140 km.
The Kurai runs in a sublatitudinal direction, on the north bordering the Chuia and Kurai basins, toward which it descends in steep tectonic scarps. The range is composed of metamorphic rocks. Loose continental deposits of the Paleogene and Neocene emerge on the southern slopes. Below the timberline, the northern slopes are covered with subalpine meadows and larch forests, and the southern slopes, with steppe vegetation.
Kurai
a Bashkir and Tatar wind instrument, a transverse open flute made from the stalk of an umbellate plant. It has four playing holes on the front and one on the back. Length, 45–100 cm. The kurai’s range is a sixth, but if the instrument is overblown, the range becomes 2–2½ octaves.