Editing Altai Mountains (section)

===Seismic activity===
Although [[earthquake]]s are generally rare occurrences, on September 27, 2003, a [[2003 Altai earthquake|large earthquake]] measuring [[Moment magnitude scale|M<sub>W</sub>]] 7.3 occurred in the [[Chuya]] Basin area to the south of the Altai region. This earthquake and its [[aftershock]]s devastated much of the region, causing $10.6&nbsp;million in damage ([[United States Geological Survey|USGS]]) and wiping out the village of [[Beltir (village)|Beltir]].