The article is devoted to the identification and analysis of the specifics of the formation of natural-geographical image of the Altai district in the works of the regional representatives during the period of the Stolypin agrarian reform. The author found out that the published works of the regional organizations are divided into two groups varying in target setting, the nature of the information submitted and the source base. The first group includes statistical publications, which reflects the various aspects of the migratory movement of the beginning of the XX century. The second group includes the works, presented as the result of personal observations over the course of migration, obtained in the journey to the Trans-Urals region. The descriptive nature of the second group of works done by regional specialists allowed the author to reconstruct the natural geographical image of the Altai region. The author shows that a number of regional experts carried out serious scientific examination of colonization capacity of individual areas, and the entire Altai district as a whole. This natural-geographic image of Altai was constructed in line with the assessment of its agricultural potential. Scientists note the extreme heterogeneity of the natural conditions of the region, philistine debunks the myth of their uniqueness. The region’s "own" requirements gave the image of the Altai region its synthetic character.