Chistop Mountain

Chistop is the mountain range of the Northern Urals, situated in the Sverdlovsk region. It stretches for 30 km from the north (the Ushma river) to the south (the Severnaya Toshemka river). The highest peak of the ridge, also called Chistop, is 1292 m high. It is formed mainly with gabbro. The slightly broken slopes are covered with mountain taiga consisting of fur, larch, birch; over 900 m the slopes are covered with moss and lichen.

Upper Tazov Nature Reserve

A proposal to organize a nature reserve upstream the river Taz – at that time almost unexplored and mysterious river – appeared in the 1960’s, and the nature reserve of 631,000 hectares was created in 1986. It preserves the endangered unique ecosystems of virgin northern taiga upstream Taz river. The nature reserve also helps to protect reducing population of northern deer and to reacclimatize Sosva beaver. The nature reserve is located in the very eastern part of the Northern Ridges, almost completely on the Upper Tazov elevation which is a plain elevated up to 200 m.

National Park ‘Yugyd Va’

This park is situated on the west slopes of the Polar and North Ural, on the border of Europe and Asia. In the park’s territory there are the highest peaks of the Polar and North Ural. The rivers, flowing down the west slope of the Ural Mountains, supply with clean water The Pechora – one of the largest rivers in Europe which falls into the Barents Sea. The natural park’s borders are the main ridge of Ural Mountains in the east, the river Kozim in the north, the rivers Syna, Vangyr and Kosju in the west, the border on the Pechoro-Ilychsky reserve in the south.

Mordovian State Sanctuary of P.G. Smidovich

Mordovian State Sanctuary of P.G. Smidovich was founded in March, 16, 1935. The Sanctuary is located on the right wooded bank of the Moksha river (the left branch of the Oka river) in the territory of the Temnikovsky district, Republic of Mordovia.

Mordovian State Sanctuary’s main treasure is woods. The most widespread trees are the light coniferous taiga trees of different kinds. Especially typical of this territory are oaken, pine, lime-tree; as well as the broad-leaved forests.

Barsov Hill

Plot of land called Barsov Hill is situated in Khanty-Mansiisky Autonomous Area, in the Tyumen region, Russia. This picturesque place has long been interesting scientists, local historians and tourists. It stretches for 8, 5 km. on the high right bank of the Ob river. Scientists suggest that the first people appeared there about 7000 years ago. In the eastern part of the place, in the flood-lands flows a branch, ‘Utoplaya’ (in Russian means ‘drowned’). According to the legend, an Ostyak prince Bars (Barz) drowned himself in it after being defeated by the Cossack forces.

Lake Adovo

Lake Adovo, located in the Gaynsky district (Komi-Permyak Okrug of Perm Krai) is the largest lake in the Komi area. It occupies the territory of 111 thousand hectares. The Adovo consists of two lakes: the Bolshoe (means ‘big’) and the Maloe (means ‘small’). The square of the water surface of the Bolshoe Adovo is 370 hectares, and the lake is 6 meters deep. The lakes are situated on the ancient lowland, on which the Kama used to flow to the Arctic Ocean in the Preglacial period.

Disappearing Shimozero

In the far north-west of the Vologodsky region, in the northern part of the Vepsskaya upland, inhabited by the Veps from time immemorial, there is a hydrological sanctuary with the occasionally disappearing lake – the Shimozero. Normally it is 3-12 meters deep and occupies the territory of over 8 m2.

Khebidya Ya – the Kozminsky Grove

Khebidya Ya is a sacred part of the relic forest, the most ancient ritual place of the Samoedic peoples. It is considered to have been inherited by the ancestors of the present-day Nenets from the ancient Chud tribes, who once lived in these vast woods.

The Cheptsa River

The Cheptsa (or ‘Chupchi’ in the Udmurts language) flows in the European Russia; it is a major left tributary of the Vyatka River. It takes the source on the Verkhnekamskaya upland in the north of Udmurtia, and flows in the territory of the Kirov region. The Cheptsa flows into the Vyatka in the city of Kirovo-Chepetsk boundaries, in the Kirov region. The total length of the river is 500 km. The territory of the Cheptsa basin – namely, the Yukamensky, Glazovsky, Balezynsky, Yarsky districts (Udmurtia) and contiguous districts of the Kirov region are compactly inhabited by Besermyans.

Reindeer

Reindeer is an even-hoofed, ruminant mammal, belonging to the deer bloodline.

Wildlife Sanctuary of the Kurgalsky Peninsula

The national hunting wildlife sanctuary called ‘the Kurgalsky Peninsula’ was founded in 1975 on the territory of the Kurgalsky Peninsula. The whole territory of the Peninsula was later included into the national wildlife sanctuary complex of ‘Kurgalsky’.

The unique character of the sanctuary is based on the extraordinary natural conditions as well as the historical background. Up to the first quarter of the XX century the Kurgansky Peninsula was inhabited by the Ingrian Finnish people and Votes, who were mainly engaged in fishing.

Zayakinskaya Cedar Grove

Zayakinskaya cedar grove is a unique natural phenomenon. It was planted by Smirnov Aleksei Alekseevich, the teacher of Zurinskaya school, in the early XX century. Cedar is the tree of the Sun, the gate to the Universe, and the symbol of strong and courageous men. At all times cedar has served people and animals, helping to keep and recover the health. All the parts of cedar have high-efficiency healing properties. For example, needles had been used as a medicine several thousand years before AD; the needles-water was used for poultices and compresses.

Izhora Plateau

The Izhora Plateau is situated in the western part of the Leningrad region; it forms the greater part of the Ordovician Plateau. Its height reaches 175, 9 meters. It is formed by the Ordovician limestone. The Izhora Plateau was named after the Finno-Ugric tribe, ‘izhora’, inhabiting the Plateau from time immemorial.

Koli National Park

Koli National Park (Finnish: Kolin kansallispuisto) is a national park in the municipalities of Joensuu, Lieksa and Kontiolahti in the North Karelia region of Finland. It covers 30 square kilometres (12 sq mi) in the forested hills on the western shore of lake Pielinen, and was established in 1991. Contrary to the other national parks in Finland, Koli National Park was originally governed by the Finnish Forest Research Institute Metla. It is now governed by the Metsähallitus like the other national parks[2].

Balaton Lake

Millions of years ago an enormous sea was located at the site of present-day lake, water area of which is 660 sq. km; it is 77 km long and 14 km wide in its widest part. In the course of geological shifts the sea floor was constantly rising, and rapid volcanic activity was transforming this area, thus, the lake was created, mostly, by tectonism 12,000-20,000 years ago.

Middendorff Cave

There is a peculiar cave in Taimyr. Usually it is hidden from the people’s eye. But when a wanderer has gone astray, found himself in trouble and is within an inch of death because of frost and snowstorm, the cave comes in his sight, gives the shelter and saves his life. It has rescued many people in trouble. The Russian traveler and explorer of Siberia A. T. von Middendorff mentioned the cave in his notes as long ago as in 18 century. And he was not the only who owed the small cave his life.

Popigai Crater

One of the most mysterious places on Earth is the Popigai impact crater. It was discovered by D. Kozhevin on the river Popigai in 1946. It is the third impact crater in Siberia. The Popigai crater is the hugest of 94 craters discovered on Earth. The crater is rounded; it is 20-80 meters deep and consists of two funnels: the outer one is 100 km. in diameter; the inner one is 75 km.

National Park “Paanajärvi”

The national park “Panaajärvi” is located on the north-west of the Karelian Republic, in its highest part. Natural and historical value of the park is unique. Beautiful landscapes, rich flora and fauna, a possibility for recreation in primordial silence, and abundant fishing – all that attracts tourists, scientists and investigators, photographers and a lot of nature-lovers to visit the park. In 2009 about 5,000 tourists visited it.

Lake Bolshoe Shchuchye

The Bolshoe Shchuchye (‘bolshoe’ means ‘big’) is situated in the Polar Urals at the headstream of the river Bolshaya Shchuchya. It is the largest and the deepest lake in the region. Being looked at from the mountains surrounding it, the lake seems to be a huge river more than 1 km. wide. The mountain ranges rise up to1000 meters above the dark water surface. The chisley slopes of the mountains have a precipitous descent to the lake; here and there the shores are very steep, almost upright, and as far as at the fifty-meter distance from the shore the lake is very deep.

Pymva-shor

‘Pyvma-shor’ means ‘hot-water brook’ in the Komi language. It is situated in a picturesque place in the Chernyshov ridge at 65 km. distance from the village of Kharuta. Within 10 km from the place where the brook flows into the river Adsva, there are hot-wells, the northernmost and the only situated in the polar region. There are about 8 hot-wells with the temperature 16-28 C above zero.

Ebavere Hill

Ebavere Hill was a sacral place of the ancient Estonians. According to the legend, the great deity of the islanders called Tarapita, was born on Evabere Hill, and from there he flied to Saaremaa. The Hill is also connected with another legend, the one about the origin of Lake Kaali. In some lean year the most beautiful young girl of the settlement named Eba, was sacrificed on this hill.

Tel’pos Mountain Lake

Lake Tel’pos is one of alpine lakes in the Northern Urals, located in the car of the northern slope of Tel’pos-Iz at 1,081 meters above the sea level, which is, evidently, a remnant of a newly melted small glacier. The lake is only 0.25 sq. km, with the maximum length of 0.75 km, width up to 0.36 km, the maximum depth of 49.5 m. The greenish water of Tel’pos is exceptionally pure, transparent, and low-mineralized. The rock-bedding can be seen at the depth of 9 meters. A lot of legends are connected with this site: This place attracts and charms, bewitches like hypnosis.

Yamozero Lake

The largest water body in Komi (its area is 31.1 sq. km), the lake is located on the Pechora-Mezen watershed at the height of 212 m. The lake basin is of glacial origin; the lake is surrounded by a marsh. Yamozero is round, 6.3 km in diameter. It is shallow: its mean depth is 1.7 m. The bottom is made of silts up to 1 m thick, with solid rock under them. The river Chernaya falls into it, the Pechorskaya Pizhma flows out of it at the west. Such fish as pike, bass, and minnow can be found in the lake.

Sindorsky Lake

The Sindorsky Lake (the Komi sea) is a taiga lake of unheard beauty, which remained from the prehistoric sea. An enormous water body (12 km long and 2-4 km wide) is located 13 km away from the railway station of Sindor, Knyazhpogostsky district, Komi Republic. Multiple early man sites were discovered on its banks in the early 20th century. Besides, it is famous for its labyrinths, made by islands: continental (13 total) and migrating (peat and vegetable quagmires). The lake is part of a bigger wildlife preserve.

Hero-Shelie

This is a geological monument located at the river Big Synya, 25 km upstream the state farm Synya (Pechora City Council). It is made of massive outbursts of Silurian dolomite. The most picturesque outbursts are located 200-250 m downstream the canyon edge. Micro relief shapes reminding us of epical hero heads on pedestals were made by weathering. According to the legend, they are actually heroic keepers of the river. The rocks are 12-13 m high.

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