Katun nature reserve
The Katun Nature Reserve ( Russian заповедник Катунский ; Katunski sapowednik ) is a Russian nature reserve , which in the Altai Republic in the Altai Mountains lies. The protected area covers a total area of around 1500 square kilometers and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Golden Mountains of the Altai , which also includes the Altai Nature Reserve .
Landscape and vegetation
The landscape is dominated by alpine tundra areas, mountain conifer forests and meadows. The main river is the Katun , after which the reserve is named. The protected area has the largest glacier system in Siberia, which extends over 80 square kilometers and consists of 148 individual glaciers.
Wildlife
The reserve is home to the endangered snow leopard and belongs to its northernmost range. The rare argali or giant wild sheep can also be found here. Other large mammals are Siberian ibex , Altaimaral , elk , Siberian deer , Siberian musk deer , wolf , brown bear , wolverine and northern lynx . There are also red foxes, otters and pika hares. The bird species include golden eagles , eastern imperial eagles , black storks , young crane , peregrine falcon , pine jays , nuthatches and hazel grouse . A total of about 120 species of birds populate the reserve.
tourism
The area has so far been hardly accessible, but offers great prospects for future tourism.
swell
- ^ A b William Riley, Laura Riley: Nature's Strongholds. The World's Great Wildlife Reserves. Princeton University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-691-12219-9
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 38 ′ 0 ″ N , 86 ° 6 ′ 0 ″ E