"Alania" - national park, Russia: photo and description

In this article we want to tell you about one stunningly beautiful place in Ossetia called "Alania". The National Park was established in 1998, and since then its employees have not stopped their activities, which have numerous directions.

History of the park

"Alania" is a national park created to preserve the unique natural complexes of North Ossetia. In addition to the nature protection function, the reserve conducts active educational and scientific activities. One of the main areas of work of the park's employees is the creation of good conditions for the development of tourism in this area.

The issue of establishing a national park in this region has been raised many times since the fifties. The first step taken in this direction was the organization of the first zeysky reserve, located in the foothill zone. Subsequently, as a supplement, hunting enterprises were also organized: Turmon, Makhsky, Saursky, Zmeisko-Nikolayevsky, Zamankulsky. And in 1967, the North Ossetian Reserve (state) was still organized.

Concerning the necessity of organizing the park, a lot of conversations were conducted in different circles and at different levels. And only in 1998 the corresponding decision on its establishment was signed. According to him, "Alania" is a national park in which research, educational and ecological works are conducted. On the territory of the reserve there is a fairly large number of cultural and historical monuments.

Location

The National Park of Russia "Alania" is located on the northern slope of the central part of the Caucasus. On all sides, its territory is surrounded by a chain of high ridges. You can get there only by one single mountain road passing through the Ahsinta Canyon through the valley of the Urukh River. "Alania" is a national park located in a high-altitude region. The minimum height of its land is 1100 meters above sea level, and the maximum is 4646 meters (this is Mount Wilpat). In total, the area of the reserve is 54,926 hectares.

The southern lands of the park border Georgia on the Main Caucasian ridge, and the western lands with the Kabardino-Balkan Reserve, the eastern border runs along the North Ossetian Reserve.

On the territory of "Alania" a differentiated security regime is established, taking into account historical, cultural, natural, economic and other peculiarities. The park is divided into the following zones: economic purpose, security, special regime, specially protected and reserved.

Climatic conditions

In the inland mountain regions of the North Caucasus, there is a special mountain climate. It is characterized by a prolonged cold winter and a short cool summer. In addition, there is a vertical zoning with a variety of microclimates. The higher the altitude, the lower the air temperature and atmospheric pressure, and accordingly the amount and frequency of precipitation increases. The climate of Alanya is moderately continental. Here precipitation prevails in the spring and summer periods. Spurs and ridges, gorges and intermontane basins, as well as solar radiation significantly complicate the general circulation, which leads to the existence of a variety of microclimatic conditions.

With altitude, radiation increases by an average of ten percent every 1000 meters.

Relief

The Alania National Park (photo shown in the article) has a heterogeneous territory. The reserve lands consist of complex systems of mountain ranges that are separated by narrow canyons and valleys of mountain streams overgrown with woody and herbaceous vegetation. Forests cover only 21% of the entire territory, but grass - about 75%. Three groups of mountain ranges stand out sharply on the territory, which extend almost parallel to one another from the north-west to the southeast.

In the south of the region is the highest of them - the Chief Watershed, then to the north extends Lateral, and behind it - the Rocky Ranges.

The rivers of the reserve

The Urukh River is the main waterway of the reserve. Its largest tributaries are Nargidon, Songutidon, Bilyagidon. The rivers have mainly glacial food. In the park there are more than 70 rivers and streams. But the lakes of the reserve are very small, they have a glacial origin. The most famous of them are Mikelay and Fastgas.

Vegetation

What is interesting about Alanya (national park)? The description of the reserve would not be complete, if not say a few words about vegetation. The region is characterized by high altitude zonality. All kinds of mountain pine forests, juniper woodlands, pine and birch forests, beech and hornbeam plantings, alpine and subalpine meadows are widely represented here. In general, forests occupy almost one fifth of the whole territory. They are covered almost all the slopes. And along the valleys grow alders. On the northern slopes small groups grow beech forests. But with height, they are replaced by birch forests and maple trees. The southern slopes are covered with hazel and oaks.

Above the belt of forests are subalpine meadows, on which grow cereal crops: reed reed, fescue, timothy. In general, the park's flora consists of more than a thousand varieties of all kinds of plants. Here you can meet about 200 endemics of the Caucasus, among them there are some that are found only in North Ossetia. In the reserve there are only more than 70 species of trees. As for shrubs, in the mountains grow juniper, barberry, sea-buckthorn, rose hips.

More than 130 species of mushrooms have been found on the territory of the park, among which the most numerous are birch, white, boletus, russula and oily.

"Alania" (national park): animals

The wildlife of the reserve is very rich and diverse, thanks to the presence of different landscapes. The park recorded 34 species of mammals, among them the most interesting are the East Caucasian tours and chamois. But in mixed forests live brown bears, wild boars and roe deer. The smallest predators on the territory of the reserve can be considered a fox and marten. Also in stone screes dwelling ermine. In the raw deciduous forests there are shrews.

Equally rich is the bird world of the park. In total, there are 116 species of birds, among them there are representatives of northern species that have penetrated here from the taiga: bullfinch, clype, owl, thrush. Also in the park inhabit the feathered European fauna, the Mediterranean and Central Asia. Such a variety of species is due to the geographic location of the Caucasus. Here, even those birds that live here, who came here in the time of the Ice Age, have been living and have formed dozens of subspecies since.

But the amphibians are not so numerous in the park. Here they are inhabited by only three species.

Activities of employees

Employees of the park are engaged not only in scientific activities, but also in educational, and in this process, whenever possible, school, preschool, secondary and even higher educational institutions are involved. To help the staff of the reserve, a volunteer group was created to protect the national park "Alania", the participants of which help organize all kinds of actions and activities to attract the attention of people and organizations to the problems of the region. The employees of the reserve have a difficult task not only to preserve and increase the flora and fauna, but also to conduct educational activities among all sections of the population.

Unfortunately, such large volumes of work are beyond the power of the staff, so volunteers are trying to help them to the best of their ability.

Natural attractions

In the park there are many natural attractions. One of them is the glacier Karagum, which covers the entire northern area of the Wilpat massif. Its area is more than 35 kilometers square. A feature of the glacier is the fact that it descends far below all the Caucasian valley glaciers.

Instead of an afterword

Visiting the park by strangers is strictly prohibited. However, the administration accepts applications for group excursions, conducted only on a certain territory. It is also worth remembering that the park is located in the border area, and therefore it is strictly protected, even from the point of view of border control. In general, it is necessary to emphasize the incredible importance that "Alania" (national park) has from the scientific point of view. In a short article, it is impossible to convey how rich the world of the reserve is, which can rightly be called the pearl of Ossetia.