Kushtau
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Kushtau
| photo = Kushtau.jpg
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| location = Ishimbaysky District, Bashkortostan,
Russia
| range = Southern Ural
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Kushtau ({{langx|ba|Ҡуштау — «twin mountain»}}) – is a shihan hill located in Ishimbaysky District along with Sterlitamak city's border, Russia. The mountain is a reef of an ancient tropical sea of the Lower Permian (Late Paleozoic) period formed over 230 million years ago.
Mining controversy
In 2018 the mountain was intended to be developed as quarry to extract chalk by local authorities. The Bashkir soda company was interested in buying mining rights,[https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/3638251 Denis Manturov publicly supported the BSK in the development of Bashkir Shihans (In Russian)]{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1v2akdl2jg|title = - YouTube|website = YouTube}} but the development plan was protested by a group of local eco-activists, who prevented it from getting access to the mountain. Despite an outcry of the Bashkir public, the Shihan's rights of mining were transferred by Radiy Habirov, at the time the head of Bashkortostan, to the Bashkir soda company.[https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/3821836?query=%D1%88%D0%B0%D1%85%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%83 BSK and Radiy Khabirov agreed on the solution of commodity problems of an enterprise] In 2020 however after long confrontation between local activists and authorities the latter suspended their mining plans and formally called sides to make a compromise over the mountain's future by offering a new plan to designate the mountain as national reserve for the nature conservation purpose.{{Cite news|date=2020-08-21|title=Глава Башкирии обещал запретить добычу сырья на шихане Куштау. Какова реакция протестующих и бизнеса?|language=ru|work=BBC News Русская служба|url=https://www.bbc.com/russian/news-53865747|access-date=2020-08-22}}
Physiographic characteristic
Length - 4 km, width 700–1400 m, height - above the soil level - 251 m, the absolute height above the sea level - 357 m.
References
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