Separate and distinct in character and direction from the mountains of
the rest of Europe, is the long chain of the _Ural_, rich in gold,
platinum, iron, and copper. It takes its name probably from the Tartar
word meaning “belt,” which well expresses the length and continuity of
this remarkable line of heights, stretching along the eastern border of
the great European plain for more than twelve hundred miles. In height,
however, the Ural is insignificant. Another separated height, that of
the forest-covered Valdai hills in Western Russia, would scarcely be
worthy of mention among the European highlands if it did not form the
water-parting of the greatest of European rivers, the Volga.
For the height of the chief mountain peaks and ranges, consult the
tables on page 74 and following.