Kuznetsk Basin

Kuznetsk Basin, rich coal-mining area of southern Siberian Russia, between the Altay Mountains and the Salair Ridge. Principal rivers in the basin are the Tom’, Inya, Yaya, and Chumysh. Excellent coking coal, from vast deposits located fairly close to the surface, is mined there. During the early 1930s the region was an integral part of the Ural-Kuznetsk Industrial Combine. Iron ore from the Ural Mountains was exchanged for the coal of the Kuznetsk Basin. After World War II (1939-1945), with the depletion of iron ore mines in the Urals, the combine declined in importance. Area, about 26,000sq km (about 10,000 sq mi).