The Kuznetsk Basin (often abbreviated as Kuzbass or Kuzbas, Russian: Кузнецкий бассейн, Кузбасс) in southwestern Siberia, Russia, is one of the largest coal mining areas in the world, covering an area of around 27,000 square miles (70,000 km). It lies in the Kuznetsk Depression between Tomsk and Novokuznetsk in the basin of the Tom River. From the south it borders the Abakan Range, from the west Salair Ridge, and Kuznetsky Alatau from the east.